New Issaquah Hospital Promotes Efficiency and Quality of Service

The hospital waiting room is now obsolete. At the new Swedish facility in the Issaquah Highlands, personnel have all but eliminated patient wait times in the emergency room.

"The idea is to respect people's time as any other resource," said Dr. John Milne, vice president for Medical Services at the new facility. "As people come in to the emergency room, treatment teams come out to get them. This eliminated time waste in the system."

According to Milne, while the state-wide average for hospital appointments is about three hours, the new Issaquah facility will average just under 90 minute for each appointment.

This is also compared to the national average of four or more hours for an appointment, Milne said.

This model of efficiency is something that Kevin Brown, Swedish chief strategic officer, said the facility's personnel want to emphasize throughout the ultra-modern new campus.

"There's no clipboard in the waiting room to fill out. As a result of this efficiency, it's played out in terms of patient satisfaction," Brown said. "The community feedback has been outstanding."

The Issaquah facility has also centralized communications throughout the hospital.

Usually, each section of the hospital has it's own communications nerve center. At the Issaquah facility, there will be one central communications hub through which all hospital communications can be maintained.

The facility is also improving upon the concept of remote EKG monitoring. Describing it as more of a redundancy than a primary monitoring method, Executive Director for Operations Chuck Salmon said that the health status of all patients within the facility can be wirelessly monitored from this central location. 

"This is the first Swedish facility to have a true nerve center of communication," Salmon said. "We're able to look at everything from building systems to individual patient telemetry."

Salmon said that each of the eventual 175 beds at the facility will be capable of monitoring wireless patient telemetry.

The communications center can also act as an incident command center during disaster periods.

The facility has also been designed to link individual patients to the outdoors, using pleasant views and an abundance of natural light to improve patient morale.

Facility architect James Walker said that the central courtyard of the facility will be the central orienting space for the incoming public while providing natural sunlight for all the patients' rooms.

The chemotherapy recovery facilities in particular have wall-to-wall glass windows that provide recovering cancer treatment patients with views of the Issaquah forests and Mount Rainier. 

The glass is one-way so that patients can enjoy these views with no fear of passers-by looking in.

The facility will also feature a multitude of large operating rooms  with state-of-the-art robotics equipment for surgery.

"The rooms have been designed to be minimally invasive," said Susan Terry, director of interventional services. "Surgeons can operate surgical equipment remotely."

Terry said that approximately 30 surgeons at the Issaquah facility will be qualified to operate the robot, a tool Brown says will be key in minimizing human error and cutting down on excess bleeding during surgery.

The operating room facilities will start off with just one room equipped with the robotics, with the number increasing as time goes on.

Individual patient rooms have also been designed to prevent patient falls, particularly when patients attempt to use the restroom.

Each room will also be equipped with a 42-inch LCD screen through which patients may order food. Rooms also have attached folding beds loved ones may use when staying overnight with patients.

The main floor of the facility will include a large retail area and a café that doubles as the hospital cafeteria. Retail options are designed to complement the needs of patients, including get well presents and children's toys.

Eric Eisenberg, head chef at the Issaquah facility's café, demands a high level of quality from his food. 

"I want food that is whole, rich, made with quality and local ingredients. The dishes we make are appealing and simple yet tasty, never overembellished," Eisenberg said. "Our goal is to focus on keeping things in moderation while focusing on quality."

The hospital will first open with a VIP open house on July 7, followed by a public open house on July 9. Outpatient services and the emergency department will open to the public on July 14. As the entire facility comes online, the full 175 beds will eventually all be available. 

"We'll be here for a long, long time, probably for at least 75 to 100 years down the line," Brown said. "You don't see hospitals like this one change."

Editor's note: Swedish Medical Center will have an open house at its Issaquah Highlands facility on Saturday, July 9.

Editor's note: This article was corrected on July 1 at 2:15 p.m. to properly reflect the hospital's opening dates.