Swedish/Issaquah does not expect layoffs amid budget crisis
March 27, 2012
Swedish Medical Center executives defended the decision to open a $365 million Issaquah hospital as the health care system loses $250,000 per day and girds for possible employee layoffs.
Systemwide, Seattle-based Swedish lost $16 million so far in 2012. Executives attributed the loss to higher health-insurance deductibles and the anemic economy. Both factors cause commercially insured patients to delay health care.
Swedish is also treating more uninsured and underinsured patients as the state and federal governments cut health care funding.
Swedish has more than 11,000 employees at hospitals in Edmonds, Issaquah and Seattle, plus a network of standalone emergency rooms and clinics in the Puget Sound region.
Few changes for patients in Providence-Swedish affiliation agreement
March 27, 2012
The partnership between Providence Health & Services and Swedish Health Services should not affect services at Issaquah health care facilities, officials said as the organizations completed a groundbreaking affiliation agreement.
Through the affiliation, Providence and Swedish plan to operate as the Western Washington Region of Providence Health & Services. The organization encompasses all Swedish operations in King and Snohomish counties, plus Providence operations in King, Snohomish, Thurston and Lewis counties.
The entities operate Providence Marianwood, a 25-year-old nursing home, and 8-month-old Swedish/Issaquah in the city.
“Swedish/Issaquah is a community hospital focused on the community needs here,” Chuck Salmon, chief executive for Swedish/Issaquah and ambulatory care, said after the Feb. 1 announcement. “At this point, my direction is, ‘Don’t change a thing. You guys are doing fine.’ There should be really no change at all as perceived by the public.”
Knee surgery goes robotic at Swedish/Issaquah
March 20, 2012
Jeff Pochop, 69, of Bellevue, is happy to be back on his feet so quickly after orthopedic knee surgery with the new MAKOplasty robotic system helped give him a partial knee replacement Jan. 20. By David Hayes
Jeff Pochop said he plans to be physically active until he’s at least 100 years old. Now 69, the former athlete stays fit biking and hiking so he can attend his annual fishing and hunting trips with his buddies.
Unfortunately, an old football injury had been slowing him down lately — he partially tore an interior ligament in his left knee while playing football for the Harvard Crimson back in the 1960s.
Temporary fixes were no longer working — he’d had an orthoscopic procedure to clean it up about 20 years ago and a series of rooster comb injections about six months ago. It was starting to affect his tennis game and his outings hunting chucker and pheasant.
“Even my hunting buddies had noticed I’d developed a limp,” the Bellevue resident said.
So he went back to the well one more time. His doctor, orthopedic surgeon Gregory Komenda, had also operated on injuries to Pochop’s shoulder and elbow. And the timing couldn’t have been better to try something new — robotics.
Pochop became one of Swedish/Issaquah’s first patients to be operated on using MAKOplasty. It’s a new partial resurfacing procedure developed to treat early- to mid-stage osteoarthritis, a viable alternative to total knee replacement or traditional manual partial knee resurfacing, Komenda said.
A surgeon with Proliance Orthopedic & Sports Medicine for the past 15 years, Komenda has been performing MAKOplasty at Swedish’s Seattle location for a little over a year.
Swedish Medical Center earns honor for ‘green’ landscaping practices
March 6, 2012
Swedish Medical Center landscapers improved the environment — and the organization’s bottom line.
The landscaping staff at Swedish/First Hill worked to qualify as a 5-Star EnviroStars group — a designated awarded to organizations based on a demonstrated commitment to reducing hazardous materials and waste.
Swedish joined more than 700 EnviroStars businesses in the area.
Several facilities in the Swedish system had a contract for spraying fungicides and insecticides on shrubs and trees. But as staffers examined the plants, soil conditions showed in need of spraying — such as aphid infestations — had disappeared. Once regular pesticide spraying stopped, birds returned to keep insect populations under control.
Swedish’s switch to the integrated pest management system saved about $10,000 per year.
The integrated pest management program is in use at Swedish/Issaquah, the 7-month-old hospital in the community, and other campuses.
“It is imperative that medical centers focus on health outside of their facilities, as well as on the inside,” said Liesl Zappler, landscape coordinator for Swedish/First Hill. “Being organic protects patients, visitors and staff, as well as the environment, and we have been able to do this at a significant cost savings.”
Swedish/Issaquah to offer massages, screenings at patient appreciation event
February 22, 2012
NEW — 7 p.m. Feb. 22, 2012
Swedish/Issaquah is offering massages and other freebies Thursday as a thank-you to patients.
The hospital is hosting the inaugural Patient Appreciation Day of any Swedish Medical Center campus. The event includes complimentary blood-pressure screenings, massages and heart-healthy food samples prepared on site by a crew from Coho Café.
Patient Appreciation Day is open to the public. The event is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the lobby at Swedish/Issaquah, 751 N.E. Blakely Drive.
Participants can also receive recommendations from dietitians about how to maintain a heart-healthy diet. Patient Appreciation Day attendees with higher- or lower-than normal blood pressure can also learn more from a physician.
Swedish/Issaquah opened in July 2011 and started offering in-patient services in November 2011. The 120-bed hospital is licensed for up to 175 beds.
Swedish Medical Center earns honor for ‘green’ landscaping practices
February 16, 2012
NEW — 11 a.m. Feb. 16, 2012
Swedish Medical Center landscapers improved the environment — and the organization’s bottom line.
The landscaping staff at Swedish/First Hill worked to qualify as a 5-Star EnviroStars group — a designated awarded to organizations based on a demonstrated commitment to reducing hazardous materials and waste.
Swedish joined more than 700 EnviroStars businesses offering services, such as car repair, dentistry, dry cleaning and printing. EnviroStars is a program of the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County.
Several facilities in the Swedish system had a contract for spraying fungicides and insecticides on shrubs and trees.
No changes for local patients as Providence, Swedish complete affiliation agreement
February 10, 2012
NEW — 8 a.m. Feb. 10, 2012
The partnership between Providence Health & Services and Swedish Health Services should not affect services at Issaquah health care facilities, officials said as the organizations completed a groundbreaking affiliation agreement.
Through the affiliation, Providence and Swedish plan to operate as the Western Washington Region of Providence Health & Services. The organization encompasses all Swedish operations in King and Snohomish counties, plus Providence operations in King, Snohomish, Thurston and Lewis counties.
The entities operate Providence Marianwood, a 25-year-old nursing home, and Swedish/Issaquah, a 7-month-old hospital, in the city.
“Swedish/Issaquah is a community hospital focused on the community needs here,” Chuck Salmon, chief executive for Swedish/Issaquah and ambulatory care, said days after the Feb. 1 announcement. “At this point, my direction is, ‘Don’t change a thing. You guys are doing fine.’ There should be really no change at all as perceived by the public.”
Mayor focuses on economy in State of the City address
February 7, 2012
Mayor Ava Frisinger highlighted a more muscular economic development effort and a reshuffled City Hall structure in the State of the City address — the speech to set Issaquah leaders’ agenda for the months ahead.
The address, delivered Feb. 6, days after the city announced employee layoffs, echoed a top priority from the City Council — a concerted effort to attract businesses to Issaquah and convince established businesses to remain in the city. The effort to remake City Hall functions also dominated the speech.
Ava Frisinger
“A major focus for 2012 will be enhancing our economic vitality, which is a community’s capacity to be economically competitive, resilient and attractive to both private and public enterprise,” Frisinger said.
Under a reorganization plan prepared by Seattle consultant Moss Adams and delivered late last year, the city focused on efficiency and effectiveness. The consultant discovered different cultures, expectations and management styles across municipal departments. Moss Adams pointed out the differences in coordination, scheduling and tracking across departments.
“In the end, our goal is to enhance customer service, find efficiencies and prepare our city for the years and decades ahead,” Frisinger said.
Though the reorganization emerged as a strong theme, Frisinger also used the address to spotlight ongoing projects.
Issaquah mayor focuses on economy in State of the City address
February 7, 2012
NEW — 8 a.m. Feb. 7, 2012
Mayor Ava Frisinger highlighted a more muscular economic development effort and a reshuffled City Hall structure in the State of the City address — the speech to set Issaquah leaders’ agenda for the months ahead.
Ava Frisinger
The address, delivered Monday, days after the city announced employee layoffs, echoed a top priority from the City Council — a concerted effort to attract businesses to Issaquah and convince established businesses to remain in the city. The effort to remake City Hall functions also dominated the speech.
“A major focus for 2012 will be enhancing our economic vitality, which is a community’s capacity to be economically competitive, resilient and attractive to both private and public enterprise,” Frisinger said.
Hospital architect earns top interior design honor
January 31, 2012
Swedish/Issaquah architecture firm CollinsWoerman has earned the highest honor in healthcare interior design for the hospital.
The firm received the award from Contract magazine in a New York City ceremony Jan. 27.
“We’re honored to receive this prestigious award,” Sarah Reisenauer, CollinsWoerman senior interior designer, said in a statement. “By working closely with our client and extended design team, the space we created together enhances the patient journey, benefits the community, and achieves our design and aesthetic vision.”
The hospital spans 550,000 square feet, and includes a medical office building, cancer center and ambulatory care center. The project focused on the concept of a commons — a central, unifying and orienting public space. Special design features include 40- to 60-foot high LED back-lit metal sculptural grass blades on concrete shear walls and a winding tile trail embedded in the terrazzo floor.
“The interior elements combine poetry of color and nature to play off the building’s natural surroundings,” Reisenauer said. “We wanted to design the space from the perspective of the patient, so it was essential to include crisp aesthetics, material integrity, and a sense of warmth and familiarity.”
