Leadership at St. Michael Medical Center looks to continue moving in a positive direction, the hospital officially breaking ground Oct. 4 on a long-awaited patient tower on its Silverdale campus.
Local and national figureheads of the medical field, including hospital president Chad Melton and Ketul Patel, CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, gathered for a brief ceremony to usher in the newest phase of construction, as well as the coming demolition of the old Harrison Medical Center site in Bremerton.
“This is an absolute historic moment in our county about creating access, taking care of our patients,” Melton said.
Patel agreed, “What this means is that we’re really here to take care of people.”
Kitsap County’s largest hospital has had the new tower as a part of its expansion plans since it was awarded a Certificate of Need from the state in 2017. The tower is expected to have four floors and will house the remaining 74 beds that have been awaiting transfer from the original Bremerton campus. The expected completion date is by the end of 2025.
The groundbreaking comes roughly a year after St. Michael had come under fire for long wait times that crippled an already low level of emergency room staff and prevented ambulances from returning to local fire departments. VMFH, as well as parent company Catholic Health Initiatives, also lost access to patient data for weeks after a ransomware attack that further diminished service levels.
The series of events led to calls for changes in leadership, including a vote of no confidence in Melton, but he said those negatives led to a positive connection with top firefighter officials and members of hospital staff. “There’s been some low points, but there’s also been some high points for what we’ve done. I’m very thankful for the teamwork and the collaboration so we can build this brand new building here in Kitsap County,” Melton said.
During the ceremony, multiple ambulances pulled into the emergency lot then pulled away roughly 20 minutes later. Considering those waits were up to three hours over a year ago, the quick transition served as a perfect visual of Patel’s statements. “We’re in a much better place,” he said. “I couldn’t think of a better time or place to announce that we’re now investing in this campus again.”
Mayors Greg Wheeler of Bremerton and Becky Erickson of Poulsbo gave their approval of the quality care that will come to Kitsap as a result of the new tower. “The new beds will increase capacity locally and add vital medical care and services that will help to improve health outcomes, helping to reduce illness, increase longevity and promote quality of life,” Wheeler said.
The VMFH website says the expansion is part of the $540 million investment in the hospital that already has included a Level III Trauma Center, Cancer Center and Medical Pavilion on one central campus in Silverdale. Also expected to open in mid-2024 is a hybrid emergency room-urgent care facility in Bremerton, complemented by VMFH Family Medicine Clinic next door for preventative care.
VMFH also has donated $100,000 to the Marvin Williams Recreation Center for education programs, $50,000 to support Bremerton Medical Respite Center and is working with the Olympic College Foundation to garner funding for the new Health Science Center in Poulsbo, the website says.
VMFH courtesy graphic
