New VA Puget Sound Health Care System Everett clinic expands services for veterans

By

Shane Ersland

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VA Puget Sound Health Care System celebrated the opening of its new outpatient clinic in Everett on Tuesday as part of its ongoing primary care expansion plans to better serve veterans.

 

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The clinic will be open for in-person care on Oct. 3rd. Virtual care services have been in place since Nov. 1st, 2021. Sen. Patty Murray joined staff during the celebration. 

“As the daughter of a World War II veteran, I am deeply committed to being a voice for veterans across Washington State and ensuring our nation lives up to its obligations to those who served our country,” Murray said. “No one should have to jump through hoops or drive hours out of their way to get the health care they need, but especially not veterans seeking the benefits they earned. That’s why I’m so thrilled to join the community in celebrating the opening of this new clinic. This isn’t just a big deal for our vets in Snohomish County, but great news for those in the surrounding region who will no longer have to take a ferry or drive too far from home just to get the essential health services they need.”

The new $10 million, 28,000-square-foot clinic has 32 exam rooms, with two dedicated to women’s health. One is a bariatric procedure room.

“VA’s commitment to bring quality care closer to where our veterans live has become a reality for the thousands of veterans who live in this clinic’s service areas,” said Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs Director Lourdes E. ‘Alfie’ Alvarado-Ramos.  “We celebrate this important milestone and look forward to the continuing expansion of physical and mental health care services in Washington State.”

Initially, three patient-aligned care teams will support nearly 3,000 enrolled patients, and that number is expected to double by early 2023. Services at the Everett clinic will include primary care (in-clinic, home-based, and homeless), laboratory services, behavioral health, social work, clinical pharmacy specialists, radiology (CT, echocardiogram, MRI and ultrasound) telemedicine, and nutrition. 

Future specialty care is expected to include cardiology, podiatry, musculoskeletal, urology, gynecology, wound/ostomy care, dermatology, vascular surgery, lung cancer screening, hand, rehabilitation services (physical and occupational therapy, audiology, speech, chiropractic, blind rehabilitation, physical medicine, and rehabilitation), prosthetics, and orthotics. It will offer the Prevention of Amputation in Veterans Everywhere (PAVE) Program, a podiatry specialty clinic aimed at preventing or delaying limb loss, and care for veterans who have had amputations.

The new clinic, located at 220 Olympic Boulevard in Everett, is part of a larger system redesign to better serve veterans across Western Washington.

VA Puget Sound also opened clinics in Edmonds (June 14th), Puyallup (July 15th) and Olympia (Aug. 16th) in 2021. VA Puget Sound will be replacing its existing clinic in Olympia with a larger, more centralized multi-specialty clinic in 2026. The new American Lake Specialty Care Building will open in 2028, creating more capacity to support expanded primary care, while optimizing specialty care programs and services. The new clinical footprint allows VA Puget Sound to directly serve Everett and Olympia, two major metropolitan areas in Western Washington that did not previously have VA facilities.

The expanded primary care services are designed to complement the community care options available to veterans under the MISSION Act.

Patients interested in seeking care at the Everett clinic should call 800-329-8387 or 253-583-2621.

VA Puget Sound provides comprehensive care to approximately 156,000 veterans across the Pacific Northwest. Approximately 120,000 are enrolled with a primary care team at one of its 10 care sites. For more information, visit va.gov/puget-sound-health-care.

This press release was provided by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.