Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital

Health Systems MultiCare Health System

Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital

501(c)(3)

317 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Tacoma, WA

45

Total Sex Change Patients

info icon Total unique children who underwent gender-affirming procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.
0

Total Surgery Patients

info icon Total unique children who underwent gender-affirming surgical procedures.
45

Total Hormone and Puberty Blocker Patients

info icon Total unique children who were prescribed puberty blockers or received gender-affirming hormone therapy.
349

Total Prescriptions Written

info icon Total number of scripts for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones.
$30,000

Total Submitted Charges

info icon Total amount submitted by providers or pharmacies to insurance for services, treatments, or prescriptions, before any reviews or adjustments. Includes medical procedures and prescription charges but may not reflect the final amount after negotiations.

Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital is a hospital located in Tacoma, Washington, and part of the nonprofit MultiCare health system. The hospital provides puberty blockers and hormone therapy to minors, but does not appear to offer sex change surgeries. Claims data shows the hospital has billed for hormone therapy. Moreover, claims data for the wider MultiCare system shows the system billed for sex change surgeries for minors. 

For more information on the specific procedure and diagnostic codes and other methodology used to make these determination, read our white paper here.

Key Findings

Mary Bridge Children’s offers “gender-affirming health care for children and adolescents” up to age 18. The hospital is “one of just four dedicated gender health clinics for children and youth in Washington.”

Services offered by Mary Bridge Children’s include “includes puberty blockers and hormone therapy.” Hormone therapy is offered to patients under 18.

Mary Bridge Children’s claims to not offer sex change surgeries but does offer referrals to surgeons. The hospital also provides associated services including fertility preservation and documentation change.

Mary Bridge Children’s has handouts promoting chest binding and tucking.

Aytch Denaro, a social worker associated with Mary Bridge Children’s, was the lead author for an article aimed at promoting the “grassroots process of establishing a multidisciplinary gender health clinic.” Denaro has claimed to be proud of providing “gender-affirming care” at Mary Bridge Children’s and that “national studies consistently show that transgender and gender-diverse youth with access to ‘gender-affirming’ care have better health outcomes.”

In December 2023, a report by The Seattle Times claimed demand for “gender-affirming care” at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital had grown more than 1,100 percent since 2015.

In February 2024, a former physician for MultiCare wrote an exposé claiming the hospital group was promoting “affirming care” for all patients with gender dysphoria, including at Mary Bridge Children’s.

In May 2024, a local church stated it would no longer hold a fundraiser for Mary Bridge Children’s unless the hospital repented for performing “gender transition services.”

Sex Change Treatments Offered

Gender Care

Mary Bridge Children’s offers “gender-affirming health care for children and adolescents” up to age 18. The hospital is “one of just four dedicated gender health clinics for children and youth in Washington.”

“The Mary Bridge Children’s Gender Health Clinic is one of just four dedicated gender health clinics for children and youth in Washington, according to Aytch. The are currently no dedicated gender health clinics for adults. But to help address the needs of LGBTQ+ patients, the MultiCare Center for Health Equity and Wellness is developing a list of MultiCare providers who are screened and approved for providing LGBTQ+ affirming care.”

Sex change treatments offered by Mary Bridge Children’s include:
  • Puberty blockers
  • Hormone therapy

Hormone therapy is offered to patients under 18. They do not perform sex change surgeries, but can provide referrals to a surgeon.

“Our gender-affirming medical treatment includes puberty blockers and hormone therapy. We do not perform surgery at the Gender Health Clinic, but we can provide referrals to surgeons. We will also help you navigate other medical interventions that can help you feel affirmed in your identity.”

Mary Bridge Children’s provides the following resources for sex change treatments:

Mary Bridge Children’s has a guideline calling chest binding “a great tool to help those with chest dysphoria.”

“Binding is a great tool to help those with chest dysphoria, and doing it safely helps your body stay healthy!”

Mary Bridge Children’s has a guideline promoting tucking, and claims it “can be necessary and affirming for some.”

“Research on the safety and practice of tucking is very limited and sparse. Tucking can be necessary and affirming for some; however, there is limited information on side effects and how to do it safely. Please supplement this information with your own research and findings to ensure the best results.”

 

Definitions

SEX CHANGE PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.

TOTAL SURGERY PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures.

TOTAL HORMONE AND PUBERTY BLOCKERS PATIENTS: Total unique children who were prescribed puberty blockers or received gender-affirming hormone therapy.

TOTAL PRESCRIPTIONS WRITTEN: Total number of prescriptions written by a provider for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones for children.

TOTAL SUBMITTED CHARGES: This is the initial amount a healthcare provider or pharmacy submits to the insurance company for a specific service, treatment, or prescription before the insurance company reviews and adjusts the payment. This value includes both the pharmacy-submitted cost of prescription drug claims and the line-item charges associated with medical procedures. Please note that this amount does not necessarily reflect the full cost of the procedure or prescription, as it is subject to adjustments and negotiations by the insurance company.

 

Leadership

Executive Leadership

Name Title Compensation
William G. “Bill” Robertson Chief Executive Officer $2,751,828
Florence Chang President $2,029,026
June Altaras, RN Executive Vice President & Chief Quality, Safety & Nursing Officer $1,112,698
Bradd Busick Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer N/A
Mark Gary Senior Vice President and General Counsel N/A
Tim Holmes President, Behavioral Health/Interim President, MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital/Chief Executive, East Pierce, South King & Thurston County Regions N/A
Alex Jackson Senior Vice President & Chief Executive, Inland Northwest and Yakima Regions $609,539
James Lee Executive Vice President, Population-based Care & Chief Financial Officer $596,384
Tim Lynch Senior Vice President Chief Administrative Officer $567,380
David O’Brien, MD Executive Vice President & Chief Physician Officer $1,095,048
Lisa Powell Senior Vice President, Chief Human Potential Officer N/A
Eddie Bratko President, MultiCare Tacoma General/Allenmore Hospitals & West Pierce & Kitsap Market Leader N/A
Tammy Buyok President, MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital & Yakima Region Market Leader N/A
Will Callicoat President, Capital Medical Center & Thurston County Market Leader N/A
Ryan Fix President, Retail Health N/A
Wade Hunt President, Pulse Heart Institute N/A
Jonathan Maner President, MultiCare Medical Partners N/A
Jeff Poltawsky President & Market Leader, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital & Health Network $667,043
Keli Ramsey President, MultiCare Rockwood Clinic N/A
Gregory G. Repetti, III, FACHE President, MultiCare Inland Northwest Hospitals & Regional Strategic Implementation N/A

The current leadership/titles are based on the MultiCare leadership website, but the compensation information is from the MultiCare Health Systems 2022 Form 990, Filed 11/2/23.

Compensation reflects the tax year beginning January 1, 2022, and ending December 31, 2022.

Board of Trustees

Name Title Compensation
John S. Wiborg Chair $0
Deedra Smith Walkey Vice Chair $0
Frank Tombari Treasurer $0
Sally B. Leighton Secretary $0

The current leadership/titles are based on the MultiCare board of directors website, but the compensation information is from the MultiCare Health Systems 2022 Form 990, Filed 11/2/23.

Compensation reflects the tax year beginning January 1, 2022, and ending December 31, 2022.

In the News

Stay up to date with the latest news and updates.

The Free Press

I Was Told to Approve All Teen Gender Transitions. I…

02/05/2024

In February 2024, a former physician for MultiCare wrote an expose claiming the hospital group was promoting "affirming care" for…

Read More →
The News Tribume

Citing ‘offenses against God,’ local church cuts ties with children’s…

05/06/2024

In May 2024, An Eatonville Church stated it would no longer hold a fundraiser for Mary Bridge Children’s unless the…

Read More →
The Seattle Times

What is takes for WA trans youth to access gender-affirming…

12/17/2023

In December 2023, a report by The Seattle Times claimed demand for gender-affirming care at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital had…

Read More →