Keeping commitments in Yakima

When MultiCare announced plans to have Yakima Memorial Hospital and its related clinics join our health system, we made a promise to the Yakima community: expand access to local health care services and make getting care in Yakima better.

Since that time, we have been on a journey to keep that promise. Over the last few years, we have recruited new Yakima staff members, increased access to primary care and colonoscopy services, improved infrastructure at the hospital and clinics, invested in new partnerships and much more.

In 2025, we made significant inroads in expanding care access with two notable projects: opening a new neighborhood emergency room in Union Gap as well as a new ambulatory surgery center in Yakima.

New emergency care options close to home

Extended wait times at emergency departments (EDs) are a national challenge. But they were a particularly egregious problem at MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital, Yakima’s sole local provider of emergency services in the region and one of the busiest EDs in the state.

In 2024 alone, Yakima Memorial’s ED served over 87,000 patients — far more patients than the department was originally designed to care for. It was clear that an additional option for emergency care in Yakima was desperately needed.

MultiCare has been working for years to increase access to emergency care in the communities we serve, using an innovative off-campus emergency department care model — also referred to as a neighborhood emergency room (ER). Neighborhood ERs deliver the same level of care as hospital-based facilities, and typically also significantly reduce patient wait times.

We brought that model to the Yakima region, opening the Union Gap neighborhood ER in November 2025. The new 12-room, 10,500-square-foot emergency department serves patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is staffed by board-certified emergency physicians, and also offers on-site radiology services, including X-ray, ultrasound and CT scans.

MultiCare leaders at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for MultiCare Emergency – Union Gap

Only open a short time in 2025, the Union Gap location is already helping us meet the health care needs of the region — as well as providing a much-needed relief valve for the hospital’s emergency department. Of the nearly 87,000 emergency services patient visits recorded in Yakima in 2025, over 3,000 took place at the Union Gap neighborhood ER.

Expanding outpatient surgery options

Being able to have surgery in an outpatient setting is often a lower-cost option for patients than having to go into the hospital for surgery. Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) also free up hospital operating room space for patients requiring emergency surgery or surgery for complex injuries or illnesses.

MultiCare had these facts in mind when we opened MultiCare Surgery Center – Yakima in August 2025. Formerly run by Astria, the center includes three operating rooms and one procedure room and serves patients who need a range of orthopedic surgeries.

Taking care of our Yakima hospital

In addition to constructing new buildings and adding new services, ensuring long-term access to local care also means making sure existing health care facilities get the maintenance and updates they need.

In 2025, we commemorated Yakima Memorial Hospital’s 75th year of service by embarking on a multiyear “fit and finish” facility refresh project. Over the next three years, the hospital will undergo a series of surface-level renovations to improve aesthetics, comfort and functionality — all while maintaining full operations and prioritizing patient care and staff support.

The 12-phase project is focused on enhancing the patient and staff experience by updating:

• Flooring, paint and wall coverings
• Lighting and ceiling tiles
• Furniture and fixtures in patient rooms and public areas
• Nurses’ stations and staff spaces

Funding for the nearly $30 million project comes from the investment MultiCare promised to make in the region, as well as from Memorial Foundation.