Byline: BILL VIRGIN P-I reporter
Swedish Health Services yesterday announced a lease for a new emergency room in Issaquah, the first step in a long-term plan to open a new hospital in the Eastside community.
Swedish, which operates three hospitals in Seattle, said the new emergency room could be open by next February.
The emergency room, which will cost between $16 million and $20 million, will be located in an office building owned by the state Department of Natural Resources on Northwest Sammamish Road, across from the entrance to Lake Sammamish State Park.
Swedish can open an emergency room under its existing authorizations, but it needs a state-issued certificate of need in order to open a hospital. Earlier this month, it submitted a letter of intent to the state Department of Health for a $175 million, 175-bed hospital to be built in three phases. An application for a certificate of need can be filed 30 days after the letter of intent, which is good for six months.
Kevin Brown, vice president of the Swedish Physician Division and Eastside project lead, said Swedish is working on its formal application as well as talking to city officials about what services to offer in the hospital. Swedish and the city are also discussing where the hospital might be located. Brown said it won't be at the same place as the freestanding emergency room, but could be nearby.
Swedish said growth on the Eastside and a shortage of specialty and emergency services there prompted it to propose both the emergency room and the hospital. Swedish already operates two primary-care clinics and several specialty clinics on the Eastside, and it says nearly a third of its medical-staff doctors live on the Eastside.
It also says it's the second-largest provider of in-patient hospital services to Eastside residents. Brown said Swedish would like to bring its services closer to those customers rather than expecting them to drive to Seattle. The emergency facility includes plans for classrooms for birthing and other education programs.
Brown said development of the first phase of the hospital, planned for 80 beds, could take as long as seven years.
This wouldn't be the first proposal for a hospital in Issaquah. Bellevue-based Overlake Hospital Medical Center filed a letter of intent in 2001 for a hospital there but allowed it to lapse. In January 2003 Overlake officials presented long-term plans for hospital development to the Issaquah City Council.
Overlake still is interested in a satellite hospital, but has decided to move in phases by developing a medical-services campus in Issaquah, according to spokeswoman Katie McCarthy. In September, members of Overlake's medical staff opened Sound Health Solutions; in December Overlake opened a breast center and a women's center in Issaquah. Construction is nearly complete on an ambulatory surgery center, and the campus also houses pediatric and dental practices.
Janis Sigman, manager of the certificate of need program at the state Department of Health, said the application review usually takes six to nine months.
Once the applicant responds to questions from the department, the application is put under formal review. The public can comment on the application and request a public hearing.
Currently, the only other pending application for a hospital in Washington is Franciscan Health System's proposal for a 112-bed facility in Gig Harbor. A decision is expected in mid-May.
The Washington State Hospital Association counts 97 community general hospitals in the state; 86 have emergency departments.
P-I reporter Bill Virgin
can be reached at 206-448-8319
or billvirgin@seattlepi.com
