Community members protest closure of St Michael’s child rehab clinic

Published 1:30 am Monday, March 30, 2026

Roughly 50 community members held a rally outside of St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale March 27 to protest the upcoming closure of its pediatric rehabilitation clinic, which is scheduled to shut its doors April 24.

Darci Bassett, a mom whose 5-year-old son is a patient of the clinic, described her disappointment and frustration with the clinic’s closure. Bassett’s son has received services at the clinic for the last three years. “He has a gait abnormality and autism. The services we receive there make it possible for him to thrive in the things that he wants to be doing, and help keep him as close as he can be in line with his peers,” she said.

Affected families recently filed official complaints with both the Washington State Attorney General’s Office and The Joint Commission, requesting review of the circumstances surrounding the closure and its potential impact on patient care and continuity of services, per Bassett. A planned meeting is expected to be held April 3 between hospital leadership and 23rd District Rep. Tarra Simmons to discuss the clinic closure and possible solutions.

“Families are still hoping to be invited to participate in that…discussion, as we believe the people most affected by this decision should be part of the conversation. Our goal remains the same: to work collaboratively with hospital leadership and elected officials to identify solutions that protect care for children and families in our community,” Bassett said.

Bassett described the potential impact of the clinic’s planned closure.

“So a group of us, as moms, really wanted to understand the why. How on earth did we come to this point where, with a month’s notice, we’re closing these services on families and, in many ways, creating a kind of healthcare desert for these services in our community? Approximately 200 children are currently being served by this clinic, and there were several hundred children on the wait list, so all of these kids are being pushed back into community resources, from Everett to Seattle. And it’s incredibly difficult for so many of our children. Having a gap in services leads to regression and many other difficulties,” she said.

SMMC president Chad Melton said hospital leadership is planning to meet with impacted families in the coming weeks. “We sent a letter to all impacted patients and their families to share this update directly, recognizing how difficult this transition is and that it reflects a decision we did not make lightly. We are working to schedule a meeting with impacted families and continue to follow up with those who have reached out to us directly. Our clinic team is actively providing support during appointments, and we have been calling patients with appointments later this month to provide as much advanced notice as possible,” he said.

Melton said the clinic serves 200 patients, noting that some patients will complete their course of therapy before the clinic’s closure, adding, “We continue to work on transitions for those who will need to continue therapy after our closure date. We have also contacted all referring providers who had patients on our waitlist to ensure any patient still in need of care is aware of the upcoming clinic closure and has a list of alternative providers,” he said.

Bassett said she has not yet received any communication from hospital leadership.

“So this has kind of been born out of frustration with that lack of communication. And the hospital is telling employees in the community that they’re providing parents with a personalized or individualized transition plan. A list of 20 clinics that you can call on your own is not a transition plan in any way, shape, or form, and it has just been so incredibly frustrating,” she said. “What we want to come out of this is a sit-down with the hospital. We’re not unreasonable. We recognize that maybe on some level, we can’t keep the clinic open, though I think that is our hope and our overall goal. But if the clinic can’t be kept open, then we would love to better understand what led to this point, and we would ask for a longer grace period, more time to actually transition our children to services.”

Bassett said she called many of the clinics and learned many have months-long waitlists and not all of them necessarily accept TRICARE insurance (for active duty, retired, National Guard and Reserve members, and their family members) or Medicaid.

Melton previously told Kitsap News Group that roughly 70% of patients at SMMC are enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare compared to 60% across the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health network, with Medicaid paying roughly 20-50% below the cost of providing care.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who represents Washington, provided Kitsap News Group the following statement:

“Health care providers are already strained and stretched thin—and closures like these are becoming far too common. This news is devastating—kids and families in the peninsula deserve better. Unfortunately, Republicans chose to enact the largest health care cuts in history last summer, so our country is headed for tough times. I am fighting to repeal those cuts and expand access to health care, but under a Republican Congress, we have to be clear-eyed that these proposals are facing serious obstruction. In the meantime, I was able to secure critical funding for community health centers across the country, including in Washington state, and for stabilizing rural hospitals nationwide. There are no easy answers, but Washington state families should know I will not stop pushing to repeal (President Donald) Trump’s Medicaid cuts and to eventually get us to universal health care—and in the meantime, I am looking at every possible avenue to help keep our health care providers afloat,” she said.