Some local VMFH physical-therapy and sleep clinics to close. Here are the details
Some area outpatient therapy clinics that are part of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health network will close by the end of year, according to the health system.
The closures are part of a consolidation that will send patients to different sites for services.
James Terwilliger, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, said in a statement:
“Our top priority across the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health system is ensuring we are strongly positioned to continue providing safe, high-quality care. As our health system, like others across the industry, experiences significant operational challenges we are taking a number of steps to find efficiencies, while continuing to maintain critical services.
“As part of these efforts, we have made the difficult decision to consolidate outpatient therapy services across the region. We are working closely with affected patients to ensure there is no disruption in care.”
The affected sites include the physical-therapy clinic at the Franciscan Medical Pavilion in Bonney Lake and the physical-therapy clinic at the Franciscan Medical Pavilion on Kimball Drive in Gig Harbor. Both will close Dec. 31.
Changes as of Dec. 31 also are coming to two physical-therapy clinics at area hospitals:
▪ At St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale, adult physical therapy services will be discontinued, but the site will maintain access to outpatient video swallow studies and continue to provide outpatient pediatric therapy services.
▪ At St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood, the health system will still offer services for total joint-replacement patients who are registered as “outpatient” for the surgical procedure.
Services at the affected clinics “will be consolidated across our remaining locations, allowing us to fully utilize the resources we have to provide exceptional care to our patients,” the health system said in response to questions from The News Tribune.
VMFH said patients would receive information on alternative locations for outpatient physical-therapy services.
“For Tacoma patients: Outpatient therapy services will remain available at St. Joseph Medical Center, St. Francis Hospital (Federal Way), and clinics at Port of Tacoma, University Place, and Canyon Road (Puyallup),” the system said recently.
Sleep clinics also affected
Changes also are coming to some area sleep clinics in the VMFH system.
The St. Francis Sleep Disorders Center in Federal Way and the St. Anthony Sleep Disorders Center on Point Fosdick in Gig Harbor will close by Dec. 31.
“In addition to the presence of alternatives for overnight in-lab sleep studies in the communities served by these sleep labs,” the health system said it was increasing capacity for sleep studies at two centers.
Those two sites are St. Clare Sleep Disorders Center in Lakewood and St. Anne Sleep Disorders Center in Burien.
The VMFH clinic closures were first reported this week by The Kitsap Sun.
