Read the web page for Harrison Hospital and you will be greeted by the words, “Seize the Day!” Certainly, nothing could say this better than Harrison’s new 32 acre, 125,000 square foot Silverdale Campus sitting regally upon the hill at the corner of Myhre and Ridgetop.

The magnificent building designed by architectural firm Kaplan, McLaughlin, Diaz, Inc., not only commands our attention, but is a harbinger of the quality Kitsap citizens now demand of businesses and services. While citizens watched from the outside as the building went up, staff at Harrison were busy developing a whole new approach to caring for patients once they are on the inside.

Though most staff and docs will remain the same, some 62 additional jobs have been added. “The idea here,” says Kathleen Sanford, Vice President of Nursing and the Silverdale Director, “is to promote wellness.” Even as word gets out that the Silverdale Campus, which opens July 10, will house the OB/GYN and Peds units, Sanford wants the public to know, “This is not just for women and children. Men are welcome, too!” It has a 24 hour emergency room, a state of the art adult and child rehabilitation center, lab, pharmacy, meeting rooms, and adjunct medical office space.

It will complete the extension of services to North Kitsap, as the Port Orchard Urgent Care does for South county. All critical emergency care will remain at East Bremerton. “If you have a heart attack, you will be going to East Bremerton,” Sanford says. But, in an emergency, she emphasized, “just call 911, they will know where to take you.”

The wellness approach can be seen in the structure itself which combines comfort — even elegance — with top notch equipment. All 24 beds are in private rooms, all with whirlpools, and windows with fantastic views of either Clear Creek Trail, Dyes Inlet or the Olympic peaks. The eight rooms set aside for LDR, or Labor/Delivery/Recovery, also come with refrigerators and microwaves. Families can bring in their favorite foods, or the new mother can order around the clock from the Chipmunk Cafe.

The OB/GYN and Peds is located in the top level with its own East side entrance. Now a laboring woman doesn’t have to come in to a lobby full of people. Barring any problems, she will stay in her own room until her baby arrives. Sanford is proud when she notes, “We listened carefully to what our patients wanted, and we think we have given them exactly that.”

On the second level, are the OR’s, and separate emergency entrance with ambulance access on the South side. The Cafe, gift shop, pharmacy, outpatient care and patient registration are also on level two.

The main entrance is on the North side and contains the most stunning architectural highlight. Within its glass walls, looking like an enormous inverted umbrella, a central beam branches out to several other beams. Each beam is embedded with thousands of fiber optic lights so that at night it will be a beacon seen for miles around. Fittingly, it is called the “Tree of Life.”

The first level houses medical office space, Olympic labs, and the most comprehensive rehabilitation center in the area. Two major components to the center, are a hydrotherapy pool with treadmill bottom that can be hydraulically adjusted for easy access by the wheel-chair bound, and a computer based exercise system which simulates any movement a patient needs for learning how to carry out his/her activities.

Redge Campbell, Director of Rehabilitation is excited about offering pediatric services, as Harrison has never been able to do that before because of lack of space, equipment and personnel.

“Kids used to have to go to Seattle for the kind of treatment we can now offer here. It is truly an exciting new development for us.”

Patients will be physician referred for trauma, congenital, and sports related injuries. Another added dimension to the rehab center will be the participation of Green Mountain therapists, a new member of the Harrison team since December, 1999.

Perhaps a telling way in which patient’s needs are being addressed, is the mobile staff equipped with cell phones at all times. Rather than being tethered to a desk, they can be out and about helping patients and remaining in constant communication with one another. For children, a youth advisory board is in the works allowing kids a voice in what they want or need from the Hospital. A “Virtual Patient Day,” will prepare the Hospital for the real thing as volunteers come in as “patients” and are “treated” in “real time.” Several open houses are planned for the first part of July after an invitation only ribbon cutting on June 29th.

The Silverdale Campus, nearly ten years in the making, spearheaded by Don Thornton, Director of General Services, has not been without critics who claim it ignores the needs of Bremerton. As the population expands in North County, it was felt there was a clear need for countywide accessible emergency care. But, Bremerton is still the critical care center. Construction has already begun in Bremerton on the “New Beginnings” Radiation Oncology Center. Designed by KMD, it is a 14,000 square foot addition housing sophisticated radiation and medical oncology equipment with the “crown jewel” being a linear accelerator with space for a second future accelerator.