MultiCare to open cardiology center, consider emergency room after success of urgent care

Following the success of MultiCare Indigo’s opening of an urgent care facility in Yelm last May, the organization is set to expand its services in the city by opening a cardiology center and possibly an emergency room, too.

Mayor Joe DePinto told the Nisqually Valley News on Monday, Oct. 6, that MultiCare’s Pulse Heart Institute will open in Yelm by the end of 2025 in the Nisqually Plaza.

“After MultiCare opened up, they’ve been busy. It was slow for a minute after they opened, but it picked back up,” DePinto said. “MultiCare reached out saying they found a location for their cardiology department. It’s called Pulse. They’re going to open up right by Mr. Doug’s in that strip mall where Freedom Training Center used to be.”

DePinto added that there’s been coordination and lots of work done “for years” in the partnership between the City of Yelm and MultiCare. Whether it’s from developing an urgent care center, bringing a cardiology clinic or potentially an emergency room — it’s clear that bringing more health options into the city has been an area of importance recently.
Before a potential emergency room can be constructed and open, DePinto said MultiCare is currently awaiting about a “year’s worth of data” from its Indigo Urgent Care in Yelm.

“They want about a year’s worth of data from their Indigo Urgent Care, and they’re hoping that we can start planning for an emergency center in Yelm as well,” DePinto said. “They want a year’s data for how many people have come in, how much business they’re making. At the end of the day, they are a business and they can’t come to a community that isn’t sustainable for them.”

The mayor added that both he and MultiCare are confident in the possibility of bringing an emergency room to Yelm. He noted it could not happen without assistance from another important regional partner in South East Thurston Fire Authority.

“I’m confident. They are, too. But they just want to make sure. Southeast Thurston Fire Authority has been really good partners in this as well, with getting us data. They’re a big advocate for this too, because they can cut down on their response times,” DePinto said. “They can drop patients off at this new emergency center like they have in Lacey. That’s where they have been dropping off patients usually.

“This is what happens when you advocate for certain projects and services,” he continued. “We deserve these services. We’re pretty excited.”