United General Medical Center celebrates 10 years with PeaceHealth

SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. – On April 1, 2014, United General Hospital officially joined the PeaceHealth family.

Caregivers, providers and community partners are celebrating this 10-year milestone all week, with a trivia contest, caregiver breakfast, open house and special recognition of all employees who have served United General longer than 10 years.

The integration with PeaceHealth has allowed United General to evolve, innovate and reach out to the community to provide comprehensive wellness and preventative care, said Chief Administrative Officer Chris Johnston, who has been with United General since 2004. “It’s been a remarkable journey. Thanks to our caregivers and providers, PeaceHealth has evolved into an exceptional healthcare center and an indispensable part of this community.”

United General’s story began in 1965, following a merger of Sedro-Woolley’s Memorial Hospital and Burlington’s Matthews Hospital. It opened with 97 beds and multiple specialties, and in the 70s developed an innovative oncology program that has continued to flourish and grow ever since.

In the early 1990s United General affiliated with Skagit Hospital, with both hospitals continuing operations. The two split apart again in 2003; United General scaled back services. Ten years later, United General began discussions with PeaceHealth, collaborating on some specialty care services. In 2014, Hospital District 304 commissioners determined that aligning with PeaceHealth would best ensure the community’s access to high-quality, comprehensive healthcare for many years to come.

With ancillary clinics in Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, PeaceHealth now provides a wide range of services, including:

• 24/7 Emergency Department providing Level IV trauma care
• Cancer Center, including medical and radiation oncology, infusion and a soon-to-be-upgraded linear accelerator (LINAC) to provide the most advanced radiation therapy treatment available
• Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program providing screening, diagnosis, treatment and support under one roof
• Surgical center, nationally recognized for highest safety standards
• Outpatient rehabilitation therapies, including physical, occupational and speech therapies, as well as a specialized program for Parkinson’s disease
• 25-bed acute care and swing bed medical unit
• 10-bed inpatient Acute Rehabilitation Center, featuring a full range of therapies and support for patients recovering from surgery or dealing with an acute injury or illness
• State-of-the-art imaging, including 3D mammography, a mobile magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coach; CT scanner; CT simulator; and nuclear medicine camera for cardiac imaging
• Two-bed, six-day-a-week Sleep Medicine Center, offering studies and treatments for sleep disorders
• An adjacent clinic offering family medicine, same-day care, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics, gastroenterology, neurology, pulmonology, cardiology, imaging and laboratory services

“Our partnership with PeaceHealth has been successful and dynamic, and we’re excited about what the future holds,” Johnston said. “We’re proud of our progress and incredibly grateful to our caregivers, volunteers and community partners for helping us serve with compassion and dedication, and to our patients for trusting us with their care.”

About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a non-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, more than 3,000 providers, more than 160 clinics and 9 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.