Dr. L.M. Mares, Dr. A.G. Haug and Dr. L.S. Smith founded the Wenatchee Valley Clinic in 1940. Their philosophy was that patients were best served when they had easy access to other specialists under the same roof.

Today Wenatchee Valley Medical Center (WVMC) is still physician owned and still has the best interest of our patients at heart; we're just larger and able to take care of more of them. In fact, with eight office locations and a hospital, a full range of health care services and cutting edge technology, we've got North Central Washington covered with a rural health care delivery system second to none.

The founders of the clinic recognized that a regional patient base was required to support specialty care in a rural environment, but even they didn't envision a comprehensive health care delivery system encompassing a region of roughly 12,000 square miles. Today over 60 percent of the clinic's business comes from outside the greater Wenatchee area, and our specialists drive over 130,000 miles annually to provide outreach to clinics in North Central Washington communities.

Physician recruitment and retention have always been among our strengths. Our doctors were recruited not only because they bring knowledge from some of the nation's best medical training programs, but because of their values. They came for the quality of life, the beauty of the land and professionalism that fosters the physician-patient relationship. This ability to recruit has paid off in steady growth, and today WVMC has nearly 300 physicians and approximately 1,400 employees.

WVMC is a strong believer in being a corporate good neighbor and is generous in its contributions to local community organizations—including matching employee and physician contributions to the United Way. Every year we offer free community flu shot clinics and provide over $2.5 million in charitable care.

At Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, our patients still come first. Always have, always will.