2811 Tieton Drive,
Yakima, WA 98902 
Call: Leif Ergeson:
Media Relations Contacts
The Communications, Marketing and Media Relations Department at Virginia Mason Memorial is the official contact for all media requests. Media relations services include interview scheduling and medical experts, patient interview requests, photography coordination, and provision of press releases and media materials.
Contact Information
Please do not use this media contact information for sales inquiries.
- Leif Ergeson
Executive Director, Communications, Marketing, Public Affairs
(509) 575-8116 - Rebecca Teagarden
Communications Specialist, External/Media Relations
(509) 577-5051 - Lisa Johns
Graphics Manager
(509) 249-5308 - Communications Office
Tieton House
2811 Tieton Drive
Yakima, WA 98902
- Advertising/Marketing Inquiries:
(509) 575-8116
Requests for Interviews and Photographs
Contact a Communications Specialist to conduct an interview or take photographs at Virginia Mason Memorial. Members of the news media must be accompanied at all times while on medical center grounds or any outpatient location.
Experts Available
Virginia Mason Memorial has experts who are available to speak about medical topics, scientific and clinical research, health issues and programs. Call a Communications Specialist for more information.
Requests for Logos
Please contact Lisa Johns, Graphics Manager, for any logo requests and accompanying brand guide for appropriate use.
Release of Patient Information
Patient confidentiality and privacy is not only our commitment to patients, but required by law under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Information about the condition of a patient may be released only if the inquiry specifically contains the patient's first and last name. A patient, or the person authorized to give consent, can opt out of providing information altogether. Please read the Washington State Hospital Association Guide for Cooperation for an explanation of the terms that are used to describe patient conditions and injuries, and for information about the federal laws that govern hospitals' release of patient information to media.
Our Hospital
COVID-19 News & Announcements
COVID-19 Testing
HealthyNow Creekside is a COVID-19 testing site only. Existing patients with one or more COVID symptom may call to schedule a test through their primary care physician. New patients or those needing evaluation may schedule online to be seen at our HealthyNow West Valley location. In your online appointment request, please list your current symptoms so our team can better serve you. Or call 509-225-4669
UPDATED! July 23: Updated Visitation Policy
As a response to the current community situation with COVID-19, we are suspending most in-person visits to our hospitalized patients. The decision to suspend hospital visits was difficult and made only after careful consideration.
Read More »
Virginia Mason Memorial resumes surgeries.
Read one patient's story: Hip replacement and home the same day.
Curtis was one of the first hip-replacement patients in Virginia Mason Memorial history who didn't have to spend the night in the hospital after surgery, which is a growing trend.
Curtis Johnstone of Yakima waited a long time for his hip-replacement surgery - 10 years, as a matter of fact. By 2018 his doctor told him the cartilage in his right hip was gone. It was bone on bone. "It would ache, and I couldn't sleep at night," he says. "I'd have to take ibuprofen or ice it to try to calm it down." But Curtis's job didn't offer health insurance. So he literally limped along until he turned 65 and could sign up for Medicare.
In early 2020 and fully insured, Curtis, 65, was thrilled to finally book his full hip replacement surgery at Virginia Mason Memorial hospital. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As a safety precaution, all elective surgeries at Virginia Mason Memorial were halted, and Curtis’s surgery was cancelled.
So when schedulers called him in late May to rebook his hip replacement, Curtis had no reservations. “They asked me if I’d be willing to come in, and I said, ‘Absolutely!’ I figured the hospital was one of the safest places I could be,” he says. “All the precautions were in place.” Those precautions include a three-day quarantine before surgery, COVID testing and, on the day of surgery, a Memorial employee greets patients at their car, provides a mask, checks their temperature, rules out any new COVID symptoms, and helps them fill out paperwork.
Infusion Care team 'keeps going' and patient couldn't be more grateful
Gregory White has been coming to the Outpatient Infusion Care clinic at Virginia Mason Memorial for the past 10 years.
“This team is like my family,” he says. “I know most of them, and know about their kids, and they know everything about me!”
Greg was diagnosed at birth with a rare, hereditary blood disorder called Diamond-Blackfan Anemia, which affects the ability of bone marrow to produce red blood cells. The disease is often treated with blood transfusions. In fact, to manage his symptoms Greg used to have blood transfusions every three weeks. But, as he recalls, “my quality of life was almost non-existent. I was homebound and in bed 75% of the time.”
Greg is a huge baseball fan and loves anything sports-related. Anyone who knows him will tell you that Alabama is Greg’s No. 1 favorite college team. Once an avid golfer, he had a 30-year career ranging from caddy to golf pro, and everything in between until his disease forced him to stop working.
New! June 23: Going Home after Birth during the COVID-19 Pandemic
New! June 23: Volver a casa después de dar a luz durante la pandemia de COVID-19
Mask Requirements
To minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19, Virginia Mason Memorial (VMM) would like to remind all patients and visitors that masks are REQUIRED at all VMM facilities, including our clinics.
To conserve supplies, we request that all patients and visitors bring masks to their appointments. A limited number of reusable cloth masks, made by community members, will be available if you need one.
We also strongly encourage all community members to wear masks when in public - this is one of our best tools to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Prescription Home Delivery
We now offer home delivery for your prescription medications.
Visitors to Generations OB/GYN
As part of our continuing efforts to focus on patient safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, Generations has changed its visitor policy.
No visitors will be allowed for clinic visits, with the only exceptions being:
1 Visitor will be allowed for the first OB appointment
1 visitor will be allowed at the 20 week anatomy ultrasound
Visitors to the Family Birthplace
Women in the Family Birthplace may have one visitor.
Additional Spiritual Resources During COVID-19
Chaplains at Virginia Mason Memorial Hospital provide care for every patient regardless of their personal beliefs or non-beliefs. For support, assistance, prayers, and all other spiritual care requests, please email spiritualcare@yvmh.org or call the spiritual care office: (509) 575-8035
Tele-Chaplaincy
There are times when a direct face to face spiritual care conversation is not the best option (due to distance, a pandemic, patient preference). That's where Tele-Chaplaincy provides another possibility. You can request chaplain support using your personal, or hospital room, phone. Calls are confidential. Chaplains will listen, provide encouragement, offer help and resources, and if desired, offer prayer. If you are part of a faith community a chaplain can help you connect with them.
Virtual Chaplaincy
Without regular visits from family and friends a stay in the hospital can be even more challenging. One of our newest offerings, Virtual Chaplaincy using Zoom, helps make connections. By contacting the Spiritual Care team at the email or phone number above you can request a Zoom meeting. Family and friends throughout the Yakima Valley, from the four corners of the state, from across the country and even internationally, are meeting with patients via Zoom to offer their love and support. Due to the popularity of this option scheduling and frequency may, at times, be limited.
Hospital Lab Services
All out-patient lab services - including newborn screens and bilirubin collections - will now be provided at Memorial Cornerstone Medicine, 4003 Creekside Loop. Hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday and Sunday.
Hospital Pharmacy
The hospital pharmacy is closed to the public for the duration of the pandemic. The public may choose to have those prescriptions transferred to VMM's Pharmacy at Creekside or the pharmacy of their choice.
The Pharmacy at Creekside, 4003 Creekside Loop, is open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; and Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and offers walk-in or drive-through options for pickup.
Farmacia Del Hospital
La farmacia del hospital estará cerrada al público mientras dure la pandemia. El público puede escoger si quiere que sus recetas sean transferidas a la otra farmacia de Virginia Mason Memorial, localizada en la clínica Cornerstone o también puede elegir cualquier otra farmacia de su preferencia. La clínica de Cornerstone, está localizada en el 4003 Creekside Loop. En esta farmacia se puede recoger la medicina por la ventana y/o adentro de la clínica.
Horario: Lunes a Viernes de 8:30 a.m. a 6:00 p.m. y sábado y domingo de las 8:00 a.m. a las 4:30 pm
