March 3, 2021
Auburn Medical Center celebrates 100 Years of Caring
AUBURN, Wash. — MultiCare Auburn Medical Center today celebrates 100 years of providing care to the community in South King County.
“In 1921, two physicians recognized a need for health care in Auburn and partnered to build a progressive health care system that has provided care to our community for generations,” said Mark Smith, president of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center and MultiCare Covington Medical Center. “We are grateful that the people across South King County view us as a trusted choice for their care and know that we will continue to offer innovative medical care.”
When the hospital first opened its doors in 1921, it had 46 beds and the area’s first emergency ambulance. The hospital was called Taylor-Lacey Hospital after its founders, doctors Owen Taylor and Martin Lacey. Throughout the past century, hospital owners have invested in growth and improved technologies to provide the best care available.
Today, Auburn Medical Center offers a multitude of services and specialties, and features 195 beds, eight operating rooms and 24/7 emergency services. Last year, Auburn Medical Center opened its state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab, the only one of its kind in the West Coast.
“We strive every day to uphold the founding ideals of this hospital through the care and services we now provide to the people of Auburn and the surrounding communities,” said Bill Robertson, president and CEO of MultiCare Health System. “All of us at MultiCare are grateful to Drs. Taylor and Lacey for their vision; the caregivers who came before us during the hospital’s century of service; and for the privilege of being part of this community’s storied history.”
Quick facts about Auburn Medical Center:
- The original hospital building cost $50,000 to construct in 1921. Auburn’s population then was just over 3,000 people and the 2021 population is now 80,814.
- In 1945, the hospital was called Auburn General and had 13 doctors on staff. The hospital was the only building in Auburn with an elevator at the time.
- LifeCenter Northwest, an organization that facilitates organ, eye and tissue donations across the Northwest and Alaska, awarded Auburn Medical Center the Collaboration Achievement Award, which recognizes hospital collaboration on conversations about organ donation with families.
The Auburn community can celebrate this centennial all year long by visiting multicare.org/100-years-of-caring to view special virtual displays about the hospital’s founding, read stories from employees throughout the years, and submit baby photos to a virtual Auburn Medical Center baby album.
About MultiCare
MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care organization with more than 20,000 team members, including employees, providers and volunteers. MultiCare has been caring for our community for well over a century, since the founding of Tacoma’s first hospital and today is the largest community-based, locally governed health system in the state of Washington.
MultiCare’s comprehensive system of health includes numerous primary care, urgent care and specialty services — including MultiCare Indigo, Pulse Heart Institute and MultiCare Rockwood Clinic, the largest multispecialty clinic in the Inland Northwest region.
MultiCare’s network of care includes 10 hospitals:
- MultiCare Allenmore Hospital, Tacoma
- MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, Auburn
- MultiCare Covington Medical Center, Covington
- MultiCare Deaconess Hospital, Spokane
- MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup
- Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Tacoma
- MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, Tacoma
- MultiCare Valley Hospital, Spokane Valley
- Navos Behavioral Health Hospital
- Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital