Updated May 11. 2010 CONSTRUCTION BULLETIN

Swedish Breaks Ground on New
Issaquah Highlands Eastside Campus

Sometimes health care can be complicated, confusing and time consuming. Swedish is changing that on its newest medical campus. In August, Swedish started work on its new community-centered “medical commons” on land in the Issaquah Highlands, just off I-90 at exit 18 on N.E. Blakely Drive. Plans call for a 175-bed acute-care hospital, a comprehensive outpatient cancer center, and a five-floor medical office building (MOB).

Foundation excavation on the construction site was completed in September to avoid inclement weather, and foundation work for the new facility will start in January 2010.

The MOB is targeted to open in summer 2011, with the hospital following at the end of first quarter of 2012. When complete, Swedish will open the doors to a patient experience that will set the tone for the future of health care in the state of Washington.

Patient-centered model
Typically, patients travel multiple places for the care they need — a primary-care provider who might be close to home and specialists who may be scattered throughout the Seattle/Bellevue metro areas. Swedish is offering an alternative to this out-of-date patient experience. The new Issaquah campus will include ambulatory-care services dedicated to outpatient primary care and specialty services, including physician offices, outpatient surgery, infusion therapy, laboratory, pharmacy and advanced imaging services.

The Swedish Cancer Institute’s medical and radiation oncology will occupy significant space in the new MOB so oncology patients will be able to obtain their follow-up treatments closer to home.

The new 175-bed hospital will provide inpatient care, including routine obstetrics, pediatrics, orthopedics, emergency services and general surgery. In essence, the new “medical commons” will offer one-stop shopping for patients.

“In the past, Eastside patients often had to travel to multiple locations for needed care,” said Kevin Brown, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Swedish. “We’ve designed this as a one-stop, integrated ‘medical commons’ with a strong emphasis on ambulatory services, backed up by an acute-care hospital.”

A need for health services
The greater Issaquah/Sammamish area is experiencing tremendous growth. Trends in health care and area growth suggest the need for primary care will double in the next four to five years. Therefore, Swedish will include primary care in the new medical office building and also maintain its primary-care clinics in Factoria and Pine Lake, as well as its emergency and primary-care services in its current Issaquah location (at 2005 N.W. Sammamish Road). New Swedish primary-care clinics will also be available in Redmond and Snoqualmie.

Swedish will weave this new medical campus into the fabric of the Issaquah community. It will continue to support neighborhood activities, while offering patient education opportunities and meeting space for local groups and organizations. It will be an exciting hub of activity that will enhance community and individual wellness.

The new Swedish campus will provide the very best care along with efficient processes that respect the patient’s time, convenient access and electronic medical records. The campus will be virtually paperless and include bedside access to the latest wireless communication and entertainment systems, plus consumer health education and training.

The goal is to make health care less complicated, less confusing and less time consuming — now that’s worth celebrating.

Keep updated on construction:
www.swedishissaquah.org
www.swedish.org/issaquah