Franciscan Health System recently announced that the Washington State Department of Health has approved its application for a Certificate of Need to build an acute-care, community hospital in Gig Harbor. The state approved 80 of the 112 beds Franciscan requested subject to the usual conditions for a project of this size and scope, such as obtaining a building permit.
   “We’re gratified that the state agreed with our proposal – and the overwhelming support of Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula residents – for a new community hospital,” said Franciscan President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Wilczek. “We believe that additional beds will be required to meet the area’s long-term health care needs and we will work with state regulators to add capacity to the hospital in years to come. Meanwhile, we are happy to be moving forward towards making the hospital a reality.”
   Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2005, with the new hospital slated to open in 2007 or 2008. The 197,000-square-foot facility will be located in north Gig Harbor, just east of Highway 16 near Canterwood Boulevard and Burnham Drive. The hospital will include shelled-in space that can accommodate an additional 32 patient beds upon future state approval.
   The new hospital, the only facility of its kind in Gig Harbor, will include a 24-hour emergency department equipped to handle all but the most serious trauma cases; medical, surgical and critical care units; inpatient and outpatient surgery; a heart catheterization laboratory; diagnostic services, including MRI, CT scans, ultrasound and mammography; physical, occupational and speech therapies; and a sleep disorders clinic. A medical office building is to be attached to the hospital. Franciscan also announced that the new facility will be named St. Anthony Hospital after St. Anthony of Padua, honored by the Catholic Church as a patron saint of sailors and fishermen.
   The architect for the project is Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership (ZGF), whose work has attracted national attention and earned numerous professional awards.
   The state’s approval of the Gig Harbor hospital came nearly one year after Franciscan notified the state of its plan to submit an application for the required Certificate of Need. During the public comment phase of the Department of Health’s rigorous review process, approximately 1,000 residents expressed overwhelming support for the project in letters and at public hearings.
   “Our in-depth research shows a critical need for better access to health care, now and into the future,” Wilczek said. “Just as compelling are the numerous first-hand accounts of residents and organizations who spoke in favor of the hospital. Their stories of delayed emergency care, unacceptable diversions to hospitals as far away as Puyallup, and long travel times to care for family members in need were both touching and disturbing. We’re pleased that the state has affirmed the need for this new facility following its rigorous review of comprehensive technical data.”
   Approximately 3,500 emergency cases are transported by ambulance annually from Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula to Tacoma hospitals. Another 4,200 people leave the area every year for inpatient hospital care.
   “With the new St. Anthony Hospital that Franciscan Health System will build, residents of Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula and South Kitsap County will have access to top-of-the-line hospital care closer to their homes,” Wilczek said. In addition, the hospital will create as many as 450 family-wage jobs.
   Franciscan’s bed-use forecasts in its state application indicate that the 80 beds approved for the project will be enough to serve the community until 2012 or 2015, depending upon population growth. “We plan to work with the state to revise upward the size of the new hospital in the future,” said Wilczek.
   The Franciscan executive expressed hope that neither MultiCare Health System nor Harrison Hospital – the only organizations that formally opposed the Gig Harbor hospital – will appeal the state’s approval. “Such a reaction by those organizations would fly in the face of the public’s wishes and only delay the availability of potentially life-saving medical services that will be provided by the new St. Anthony Hospital,” said Wilczek. Both organizations have 28 days in which to file an appeal.
   Franciscan Health System will host informational public meetings soon to update area residents on the next steps of development and to celebrate the awarding of the Certificate of Need by the state. The dates, times and locations of those sessions will be announced as they become available. Updates will also be posted on the Franciscan website at www.fhshealth.org and via letters to the public and newspaper advertisements.