Published April 2003

Sultan clinic gets new owner, new name in April

By Sharon Salyer
Herald Writer

It’s official: Valley General Hospital in Monroe will take over Sultan’s Medalia medical clinic on April 1 for one year, after which it is expected to operate as a nonprofit clinic.

Most things, including the clinic’s phone number, hours and medical staff, will stay the same. But it will have a new name, Sky Valley Family Medicine.

The clinic was expected to close March 31 and April 1 so office staff could complete computer, billing, telephone and other changes resulting from the switch in ownership, said Mark Judy, Valley General’s chief executive. Patients will have to fill out some new paperwork, but hospital officials are working with health insurance companies to ensure a smooth transition.

So far, one short-term insurance snag has been found: Aetna patients may have to wait until April 15 to be seen by a doctor unless it is an emergency, Judy said.

Any Medicaid patient living within the Sultan School District boundaries can be seen at the clinic, Judy said. Because of low reimbursement rates, many other area clinics are not accepting new Medicaid patients, low-income residents who get health care through a joint federal-state program.

The clinic, which was owned by Medalia Medical Group, had been scheduled to close March 31 as part of a $40 million cost-cutting plan. Most clinic personnel were to be moved to its exiting Monroe clinic.

The announcement, made in January, galvanized Sultan and surrounding Skykomish Valley communities. More than 250 demonstrators rallied outside the clinic in February, urging that it be kept open.

Medalia and its parent organization, Providence Everett Medical Center, worked with Valley General Hospital to come up with a plan to allow the clinic to remain open.

Meanwhile, community members have kicked off a drive with a goal of raising $100,000 to support the clinic as it moves to nonprofit status April 1, 2004.

In March, Valley General agreed to pay Medalia $48,646 for the clinic’s medical equipment. It was one of the last details to be worked out in the changeover.

The hospital said it expects to write off $84,000 as an operating loss for keeping the clinic open. It also will essentially make a temporary loan to the clinic of $308,000 for start-up money. It will be paid back over the next 12 to 18 months. The money will come from the hospital’s operating reserves and is part of a rural health-care grant it received, Judy said.

The clinic building is leased. New lease details have been resolved, but paperwork needs to be signed, he said.

“This signifies the culmination of a lot of hard work and will ensure the continuation of health-care access to the Skykomish Valley,” said Dr. Earl Beegle, Medalia Medical Group’s chief medical officer.

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