Providence expands into bigger facility in North Kelsey MONROE - Providence Medical Group is moving into a brand-new building in North Kelsey, and along with it, a host of specialists that patients now have to travel to see.
The project, which has an estimated $22 million price tag, is anticipated to open in the fall of 2013.
Three full-time primary care physicians will be added to the staff, but the real growth in the facility comes with its flood of specialists.
A Women’s Center will be added to expand ob-gyn and midwifery services, and a Heart and Vascular Center will offer diagnostic services with cardiologists. Additionally, an ear, nose and throat doctor will be added, along with gastroenterologists, urologists and sleep health specialists.
Despite the additions to ob-gyn services, babies still will not be delivered at this new location.
Dr. Deb Nalty, medical director for Providence Medical Group, is “excited” about bringing these doctors closer to home. Many Monroe residents currently have to travel to Providence Medical Center in Everett to see their specialist.
“Our patients are already seeing these specialists, but they shouldn’t have to travel outside the community to do it,” Nalty said.
Providence has a long history with Monroe, having served the city for 30 years from its current location at 14692 179th Ave. SE. The old building there will be replaced by the new facility and will be adjacent to Lowe’s and Red Robin near the North Kelsey development site.
Urgent Care Center hours also will be extended with the new 43,000-square-foot facility’s opening, giving the area’s 50,000 residents more access to emergency services.
Nalty said Providence is happy to be bringing the “future of medicine” to the new facility. The building will have a conference room which will be used for “group health appointments,” a popular idea on the East Coast gaining traction here.
At a group health appointment, a group of 12-14 people with the same medical problem get together on a regular basis for a few months to share with each other, learn from the doctor present, and gain inspiration from one another, Nalty said. Sometimes a pharmacist may also be at the meeting.
A group health appointment for patients with diabetes, for instance, might have a weigh-in at the start of the meeting, and a presentation from doctors about pertinent screenings or medications.
“It’s a good place for someone to say to another person, ‘Look, I lost 60 pounds, it can be done’,” Nalty said.
Nalty also said Providence began using a new database system this month that will streamline all patient information, such as necessary medications, so that travel between the Everett and Monroe facilities is seamless and more likely to be error-free.
“We’re just so excited,” Nalty said.
