Evergreen Hospital’s Expansion is Nearly Complete
By Sonia Krishnan, Seattle Times
Apr. 27–A $120 million emergency department and patient tower will open by the end of next month at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland, the first of three major hospital-expansion projects happening on the Eastside through 2008.
Visitors will get a chance to check out Evergreen’s new facilities this week during hospital-guided tours.
Evergreen’s project is part of a building boom among Eastside hospitals, with nearly a half-billion dollars being poured into new construction.
Fueling the unprecedented expansion is the Eastside’s growing population, which has surged from Bothell to Renton and east to North Bend. Evergreen’s project, funded by a $120 million bond passed in 2004, nearly doubles the current number of emergency department beds from 24 to 42. The top three floors of the new eight-story inpatient wing will provide patient care right away, while the middle floors will be built out over time.
The state-of-the-art emergency department will be expanded from 9,000 to 42,000 square feet and will also feature a waiting room with seating for 60 people.
“Our goal is to have patients move from the door to some type of treatment in 30 minutes,” said Dawn Parker, Evergreen’s director of emergency department and emergency services.
Other highlights of Evergreen’s new facilities:
–Single patient rooms, designed with privacy in mind, come with a couch that couples as a twin bed for family members who want to stay overnight with patients.
–Psychiatric observation rooms that can be closed off from medical equipment and secured.
–Underground parking with 475 spaces for patients and their families.
–Two decontamination units that can be accessed from the outside if someone needs to be treated who has been in a chemical accident.
–A floor in the patient facility in which all the rooms have negative airflow, meaning they could be used to contain an outbreak of an airborne illness such as tuberculosis.
“A lot of this was designed so we could be prepared for future emergencies,” said Beth Zborowski, Evergreen spokeswoman.
The new wing is sleek, with open spaces and a modern aesthetic. Key touches were woven into the design so patients feel more comfortable during an inherently stressful situation, Zborowski said. For instance, in the Rapid Assessment Area — where clinicians begin treatment protocols — medical gas pumps and gauges hide behind paintings of flowers and sandy beaches to calm the patient.
And, as part of Evergreen’s “healing art” initiative, a “Hall of Watercolors” in the patient facility showcases paintings of scenes from the eight cities whose residents pay taxes to support Public Hospital District No. 2: Kirkland, Duvall, Kenmore, Bothell, Woodinville, Redmond, Sammamish and Carnation.
Another high-tech emergency-trauma center is nearing completion at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue. The $133 million South Tower is scheduled to open, in part, this fall, and will feature five floors, six new operating rooms, and a new critical-care unit, said spokeswoman Karen Johnson.
Also in the works at Overlake is an $80 million medical-office building, and a $125 million specialty center with outpatient surgery built by Group Health Cooperative. Group Health is moving inpatient services from Redmond to Overlake’s campus.
In Renton, Valley Medical Center is holding a grand opening Saturday for its new $49.5 million lobby and surgery center, which will have 17 high-tech surgery suites. Ten of the suites will be available in May, and the rest will come online next spring, said Valley Medical spokesman Perry Cooper.
Construction of a $105 million, seven-story emergency-services tower will break ground this fall, Cooper said.
Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com
Open houses
Evergreen Hospital Medical Center, 12040 N.E. 128th Street, Kirkland, will hold open houses of the new facilities today from 3 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Signs will show where to park.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Seattle Times
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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