 |
The ceremonial turning of the soil at the
groundbreaking, which was held indoors
so as to not interrupt the construction. |
Gig Harbor’s new hospital broke ground on April 26, nearly four years after Franciscan Health System submitted its application to the state Department of Health to build the facility. More than 200 people including various dignitaries attended the groundbreaking ceremony, which was held indoors near the construction site in order to not interrupt the construction schedule.
Soil from the site was brought indoors for the ceremonial turning of the soil with shovels, held by officials who included state legislators and the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle (Franciscan is a faith-based nonprofit affiliated with Catholic Health Initiatives). Archbishop Alex Brunett conducted a blessing of the soil and the ground.
Among elected officials who spoke at the event were Kitsap County Commissioner Jan Angel, Gig Harbor Mayor Chuck Hunter, Sen. Derek Kilmer and Rep. Pat Lantz. The late Sen. Bob Oke was also present and was credited among several people who championed the project.
Laure Nichols, a Key Peninsula resident who is the FHS senior vice president for strategic planning and business development, emceed the celebration. Her first thank-you went to The Russell Family Foundation, which pledged $1.5 million to help build a state-of-the-art outpatient cancer centre on the St. Anthony Hospital campus.
The cancer center will be named after the late Jane Russell, a Key Peninsula resident and Nichols’ aunt. Jane, the wife of internationally acclaimed business leader George Russell, was a well-regarded community activist and philanthropist.
“Jane was a kind and gracious individual who gave so much of her heart and soul to her family, and to the employees, families and clients at the Frank Russell Co., to St. Joseph Medical Center, and to the community at large,” Nichols said in a press release. “To be named in honor of Jane and her indelible spirit, the center will be a place of healing and hope.”
The St. Anthony hospital’s construction was approved by the state Department of Health in nearly three years ago, following overwhelming public support. Construction was set to begin in 2005, but in June of that year the project was halted, following a traffic impact study by the city of Gig Harbor that showed traffic congestion created by other current projects before any new construction could be approved in Gig Harbor North.
New legislature passed in 2006 allowed the city to create a hospital zone and bond against part of new sales tax revenue in order to finance needed infrastructure improvements. The 2007 Legislature also approved a $5 million grant recommended last year by the Washington State Community Economic Development Board. Franciscan helped write the grant, which will help the city pay for road improvements in Gig Harbor North.
The 80-bed hospital is scheduled to open in early 2009. The 80-bed facility will include 24-hour emergency services and a full range of medical, and critical care units as well as inpatient and outpatient surgery and a heart catheterization laboratory. | 