The Desimone Levee on the Green River failed and is under repair. The hospital is above the flood zone and currently in no danger of flooding. We evacuated our Time Square and Kent Station Clinics and our Lind Avenue locations. Several locations are experiencing staffing issues due to severe traffic impacts. Impacted patients are being contacted to reschedule appointments. Please be safe, do not drive or walk through standing water, and call 9-1-1 if you need emergency evacuation assistance.
Click here for King County Road Closure Real-time Tracker.
Level III Trauma Center Re-Designation
Congratulations to Valley for a successful Level III Trauma Center re-designation site visit!
Under the leadership of Lucia Chou, MD (Trauma Medical Director 2018-2022) and Katherine Bendickson (Trauma Program Manager 2021-current), Valley Medical Center successfully met criteria for full re-designation as a Level III Trauma Center. Valley has been designated as a Level III Trauma Center since 1998. It has one of the highest volume trauma centers in the state, and considers this service a critical part of Valley Medical Center’s role in caring for our community
Site reviewers from Washington State Department of Health remarked on the excellence of the trauma program and our stellar preparation for the site visit in March 2022. Numerous trauma service strengths were included in the formal application review summary that became available in May. Some highlights taken directly from their summary report include the following:
- Involvement and leadership of the Trauma Medical Director (Dr. Lucia Chou) and Trauma Program Manager (Katherine Bendickson) is superb.
- Significant trauma related accomplishments over the last designation period demonstrating a commitment to improving trauma care in the community and across the state.
- The role of Cameron Buck, MD (Medical Director and Chair of Emergency Department) in the state Emergency Care System as a member of the EMS and Trauma Steering Committee, chair of the Emergency Cardiac and Stroke Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and co-chair of the Outcomes TAC.
- Timely involvement from orthopedic surgery and interventional radiology noted in medical record reviews.
- Timely turnaround on imaging and interpretations noted during the survey teams medical record review.
- Issue identification within the QI program is excellent. All cases reviewed resulted in QI program identification and significant improvements made as a result.
- Acute care surgery service (ACS) model continues to develop with the addition of a 4th surgeon and increased focus on protocolized care.
- Trauma registrars, who perform QI audits and provide data reports, are valuable assets to the team.
- Recipient of the 2021 DOH Outstanding Fall Prevention Advocate Award.
This recent re-designation will be active through June 30, 2025 and we will continue to foster growth in this important role under the leadership of Katherine Bendickson, Trauma Program Manager, and our new Trauma Medical Director, Cheuk Hong, MD. Taking care of trauma patients is a team sport, and we could not accomplish this excellent patient care without the involvement of numerous departments and staff. Thank you to everyone at Valley who participates in the care of trauma patients!