Lourdes Health is pleased to announce that Gregory Bohn, MD, has joined Lourdes Surgical Specialists as a general surgeon.

Dr. Bohn is an experienced surgeon specializing in general, thoracic, vascular, endoscopic, and laparoscopic surgery, as well as wound care and management.

“We are excited to have Dr. Bohn join our team. He adds great depth to our team of surgeons and will be a great resource and physician for our patients,” said Martha Varnado Clinic Manager.

Dr. Bohn earned his Doctor of Medicine from Wayne State University and his Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan. Following medical school, he completed his internship and residency in general surgery with Blodgett Memorial Medical Center and Saint Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Dr. Bohn has several certifications, including Advance Trauma Life Support from the American College of Surgeons, Certified Wound Specialist Physician from the American Board of Wound Management, Certified Physician in Wound Care from the American Board of Wound Healing, Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine from the American Board of Preventative Medicine, and his Board Certification from the American Board of Surgery. He is also a Student Course Director and Instructor with the American College of Surgeons for Advanced Trauma Life Support.

“Dr. Bohn is a well-rounded surgeon and brings a great deal of experience and education to the table,” Varnado said.
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Dr. Bohn will practice with Lourdes Surgical Specialists at the Lourdes West Pasco clinic, located at 7425 Wrigley Drive, Suite 204. Patients can schedule an appointment with Dr. Bohn by calling 509.547.0027.

Trios Health is pleased to announce that it is hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony and public tours on Wednesday, March 23, at 4:30 p.m. for its new Trios Birth Center on the Trios Health Southridge campus.

The 23,376 square foot addition was constructed on the second and third floors of the existing Southridge hospital building, and approximately 9,970 square feet of existing space was also renovated for the project. The new Trios Birth Center includes two dedicated rooms for Caesarean Section deliveries, six Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum (LDRP) rooms, and a 10-bed Critical Care Nursery for infants born after 32 weeks’ gestation. 

The new Trios Birth Center was made possible by a nearly $22 million investment from LifePoint Health, which has also invested another $6 million for an ongoing medical/surgical expansion project. 

“We have eagerly been anticipating this new unit for several years as we have moved through the various stages of this project from ideas and planning to construction and now completion,” Chief Executive Officer John Solheim said. “The opening of this unit will mark the next stage in the future of Trios Health and our commitment to serving the Tri-Cities community and surrounding region and our dedication to Making Communities Healthier.”

The ribbon cutting is open to the public and will include remarks from Solheim, LifePoint Health Western Division President Sandy Podley, community leaders, Trios Health Chief of Staff and OB/GYN Adam Smith, DO, Trios Health Board Chair Dr. Randall Fong, and community leaders. The event marks the opening of the new unit, which will officially open for deliveries on Tuesday, March 29, at 7 a.m. 

The ribbon cutting will begin promptly at 4:30 p.m. and take place outside Entrance B of Trios Southridge Hospital, located at 3810 Plaza Way in Kennewick. Tours will follow the ribbon cutting and run from 5-6:30 p.m. The Trios Health Gift Shop will also be open during the event.

“Our new Trios Birth Center is beautiful, and I can hardly wait for the public to be able to see it and for us to soon be able to welcome babies on our Trios Southridge campus,” Solheim said. “We look forward to being able to serve the community with this new unit and to have all of our hospital services under one roof after being on separate campuses for nearly a decade.”

Those attending the public tours will be required to enter at Entrance B and be screened for COVID-19 symptoms. All participants will also be required to wear masks and maintain social distancing while inside the building.

The current Family Birth Center on Auburn Street, located within the original Kennewick General Hospital that opened in 1952, will close its doors permanently on March 28, and all services will be transitioned to the Southridge campus.

The 37 existing beds on the Auburn campus are being relocated to the Southridge campus, jumping the bed count at Southridge to 111 with the completion of the new unit. However, Trios Health’s overall licensed bed count has not changed. Additionally, from the space that was renovated as part of the construction, 11 existing beds from the medical/surgical floors were converted to postpartum beds and are now being relocated to an expanded third floor. Construction is expected to continue on that expansion through July 2022.

Construction for the new Trios Birth Center was completed by Layton Construction, who will remain on site to complete the medical/surgical expansion.

Lourdes Health is pleased to announce that it is relocating Dr. Wanda Good from its 14th Avenue clinic in Pasco to the Lourdes West Pasco clinic on Road 68.

Dr. Good is a fellowship-trained robotic surgeon focusing on bariatric, general, metabolic, and robotic surgery and will now be part of the team at Lourdes Surgical Specialists at the West Pasco clinic. She is also fluent in English and Spanish.

“We are excited for this clinic move and hope this will allow Dr. Good’s patients to find her in a more central and convenient location,” said Martha Varnado, Clinic Manager.

This move also adds to the growing list of services at the Lourdes West Pasco clinic, including Family Medicine, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Women’s Health, and diagnostic imaging and laboratory services. With this move, Lourdes Health is no longer operating clinics at its 14th Avenue building.

“We always want to make things convenient for our patients and hope that they will find ease of access with primary and specialty care in the same building,” Varnado said.

Dr. Good specializes in metabolic and bariatric surgery, anti-reflux and hiatal hernias, upper endoscopy, stomach and small bowel disease, gallbladder and appendix disease, and large bowel/colon disease.

The Lourdes West Pasco clinic is located at 7425 Wrigley Drive, and Lourdes Surgical Specialists occupies Suite 204. Patients can schedule a consultation with Dr. Good by calling 509.416.8895.

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) today announced the promotion of four members of its senior leadership team.

Nicholas Seeley, promoted to vice president of Infrastructure Defense, will focus on serving two key growth areas for SEL: government and cybersecurity. Seeley began his career at SEL in 2004 in the Engineering Services division. He later moved into Research and Development where he worked as a research engineer before transitioning to the company’s Government Services division. He received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from The University of Akron and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from University of Idaho and holds multiple patents. He most recently served as senior engineering director of Infrastructure Defense. ​

Legends Casino Hotel invites nonprofit organizations to apply now for the annual Yakama Cares grant distribution. The Charitable Contributions fund called Yakama Cares will be distributed in May for 2022, and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to submit applications for consideration until the deadline of March 31, 2022.

Each year, the Charitable Contributions Fund assists more than 100 area nonprofits. Past grant recipients included schools, senior services, veteran services, food banks, shelters, and many more in Benton, Franklin, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Yakima counties.

The committee of five community members and Legends Casino Hotel team members receive an average of 500 to 800 applications annually to evaluate. The applications undergo multiple rounds of cuts before the final selection. Charitable organizations whose service area lies within a 100‐mile radius of the Legends Casino Hotel campus and address a youth/educational need, elder care and activities as well as medical benefit to the community receive priority consideration.

According to the committee, “Programs where a grant can help make a significant impact in our community peak our interest. In the last two years, community needs arising from the pandemic moved to the top of the list, and we’re excited to see how we can make a difference in our community again this year.”

The application can be accessed by scrolling to the bottom of our home page‐‐www.legendscasino.com‐‐ where you’ll find Additional Links then click Yakama Cares. It is important to note that proof of nonprofit status will be required of each applicant, and according to Appendix X of the Compact that outlines the qualifications for grant distribution, tribal nonprofits are not eligible for these funds.

​Women are celebrated year-round in the Tri-Cities, but with March being Women’s History Month, Visit Tri-Cities is proud to highlight local women-owned and -operated tourism-related businesses!
 
The local tourism industry is powered by influential women who make significant contributions to the community and help in shaping the Tri-Cities into an amazing destination to live, work and play.
 
“Women are a driving force in the Tri-Cities travel and tourism industry,” said Michael Novakovich, President & CEO of Visit Tri-Cities. “From wineries and restaurants to attractions and retail shops, Visit Tri-Cities is proud to celebrate women-owned and -operated tourism businesses throughout the community that create authentic and enjoyable experiences for all. We encourage visitors and residents to support women-led businesses throughout the Tri-Cities.”
 
Visit Tri-Cities has compiled a list of women-led tourism businesses, available at VisitTri-Cities.com, as part of the Tri-IDEAs program. Tri-IDEAs, an exploration and celebrations of Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility through tourism in the Tri-Cities. Each week Visit Tri-Cities will connect with business owners, community leaders, event organizers, residents and more to highlight, share and celebrate the diversity of the Tri-Cities that can be experienced through travel and tourism activities.  
 
Additionally, women-owned and -operated tourism-related businesses are encouraged to partner with Visit Tri-Cities by signing up for a free basic membership. A membership with Visit Tri-Cities not only helps attracts visitors to the region but is an opportunity to promote tourism-related businesses to visitors and residents.
 
To more about Visit Tri-Cities, Tri-IDEAs, or membership, check out Visit Tri-Cities.com. 

Trios Health is pleased to announce the opening of its new birth center is set for Tuesday, March 29, 2022.

“We are eager to open the doors of our new birth center to expectant mothers and their families,” said John Solheim, Trios Health Chief Executive Officer. “It has been a long time coming to bring all of our hospital services under one roof, and we are incredibly excited for the public to see the new space and for families to be able to welcome their babies at our Trios Birth Center.”

Prior to the official opening of the unit, Trios Health will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and public tours on Wednesday, March 23, at 4:30 p.m.

The new Trios Birth Center was made possible by a nearly $22 million investment from LifePoint Health, of which Trios Health is a part.

The current Family Birth Center on Auburn Street, located within the original Kennewick General Hospital that opened in 1952, will close its doors permanently the morning of March 29, and all services will be transitioned to the Southridge campus at 7 a.m. that day.

Patients in labor should check in at the Emergency Room entrance on the Southridge campus from March 29 forward. They will be guided on where to go once they arrive. Prior to 7 a.m. on March 29, patients in labor should continue to check in at the Family Birth Center on the Auburn campus.

The approximately 23,376 square foot birth center addition was constructed on the second and third floors of the Southridge hospital, with approximately 9,970 square foot of existing space also being renovated for the project. The new unit includes two dedicated rooms for Caesarean Section deliveries, six Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum (LDRP) rooms, and a 10-bed Critical Care Nursery for babies born after 32 weeks’ gestation. From the space that was renovated, 11 existing beds from the medical/surgical floors were converted to postpartum beds. Construction is continuing after the completion of the birth center to expand the third floor of the hospital to relocate those beds to that floor. Trios Southridge Hospital’s previous licensed bed count is jumping from 74 to 111 with the completion of the new unit, but the overall bed count does not change with 37 of those beds having been relocated from the Auburn campus to the Southridge campus.

Construction was completed by Layton Construction, who will continue to remain on site to complete the medical/surgical expansion.

“Layton Construction has been incredible with this project and has continuously delivered on time and ahead of schedule,” Solheim said. “We are grateful to have worked with them and for the professionalism and dedication they have brought to this project. We know they are eager to turn over the new unit to us and see it open to the public.”

Originally expected to be completed in late April, the Trios Birth Center is opening about a month earlier than anticipated when construction began.

The relocation of the unit to the Southridge campus has also necessitated the move of the Trios Obstetrics and Women’s Health Clinic, previously located at the Trios Care Center at deBit adjacent to the Trios Family Birth Center. The new Obstetrics and Women’s Health Clinic opened on the sixth floor of the Trios Care Center at Southridge on March 1. Doctors Kyle Curtis, DO, Hala Madi, MD, Shumal Malepati, MD, and Adam Smith, DO, practice at that clinic.

Trios Health is pleased to announce that Hala Madi, MD, is joining Trios as an obstetrician/gynecologist. She starts on Feb. 28.
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Dr. Madi will see patients at the new Trios Obstetrics and Women’s Health Clinic, located on the sixth floor of the Trios Care Center at Southridge at 3730 Plaza Way in Kennewick. She treats women for a variety of conditions, including routine and high-risk obstetrics, hormone replacement therapy, general gynecology, menopausal care, contraception, and infertility.

“We are excited that Dr. Madi is joining our team,” said Lorie Orozco, Director of Trios Medical Group Operations. “She will be familiar to many in the Tri-Cities, having already practiced in the area for several years. She has a great deal of experience and will be an excellent addition and resource for our patients.”

Dr. Madi attended medical school at the University of Balamand – Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences in Lebanon. After earning her doctorate, she completed internship training in obstetrics and gynecology at Saint George Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon. She then went on to complete a research fellowship in the Department of Gynecology Oncology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, two years of her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at WellSpan York Hospital in York, Penn., and two years of her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. 

Following residency, Dr. Madi joined Tri-Cities Community Health, where she has practiced as an OB/GYN since November of 2019. During this time, Dr. Madi counseled women during all stages of pregnancy, monitored high-risk pregnancies, performed vaginal deliveries, vaginal births after Caesarean section and Caesarean sections, performed procedures including ultrasound, colposcopy, and biopsies, performed abdominal and laparoscopic surgeries, and more.

“We have been anticipating Dr. Madi’s arrival and are excited to bring her on board our group of talented obstetrics and gynecology providers,” said Tammy Bender, clinic manager. “We are growing with the opening of our new Trios Birth Center this spring, and are grateful to be able to have another provider to help us to continue to meet the growing needs of women and their families in the Tri-Cities.”

Dr. Madi will join OB/GYNs Kyle Curtis, DO; Shumal Malepati, MD; and Adam Smith, DO, at the Trios Obstetrics and Women’s Health Clinic. Patients can schedule an appointment with Dr. Madi by calling 509.221.6600 or online at TriosHealth.org.

HAPO Community Credit Union is pleased to announce the selection of Ashley Ward as the credit union’s new SVP/Chief Information Officer.

Ashley comes to HAPO with over 18 years of experience in her field and previously held the title of CIO for Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, the prime contractor for the Hanford site. She was responsible for leading and overseeing their technology systems, operations, projects, staff and budgets. Aside from her technical experience, Ashley has years of leadership experience in her field. She has a calm, patient demeanor and a passion for working with people and finding solutions.

HAPO’s President and CEO Dolores Broeske said, “The culture of our organization begins with our employees and Ashley is a great addition. We are impressed by Ashley’s knowledge of the industry and vision for the future; we welcome her to the team.” When asked about her new position, Ashley stated, “I am honored to be part of HAPO executive management and excited to work alongside a talented Information Systems team. I look forward to building relationships and earning trust within HAPO, bringing my experience, knowledge, as well as learning from the HAPO team. I try to live by one of my favorite quotes by Michael Jordan (The GOAT) "Earn your leadership every day." “I have always seen HAPO as an active member of this community, which is important to me, I am proud to be part of a strong community supporter.”

Ashley oversees and manages the systems and processes that run the credit union’s enterprise operations, which includes keeping HAPO’s systems and member data secure and safe, a top priority at the credit union.

HAPO Community Credit Union serves over 190,000 members and has 19 locations throughout Washington State and several counties in Oregon State.