Good Samaritan Hospital: Planning for the Future
Hospitals
Written by Amanda Gaines   
Thursday, 01 November 2007
rp Good Samaritan Hospital: Planning for the Future - Health Executive - RedCoat Publishing
By affiliating with a local health system, this comprehensive healthcare provider solidified its future.
The dream to turn Good Samaritan Hospital into a regional medical center became a reality when, in August 2006, the hospital signed an affiliation with Washington-based, not-for-profit MultiCare Health System. By the end of that month, work began on a new master facility plan for Good Samaritan Hospital, and the two organizations began working together to bring the hospital’s vision of developing a comprehensive healthcare campus to fruition.

Good Samaritan Hospital: Planning for the Future - Health Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Ed Burtnett, VP of Support Services
Prior to entering into the affiliation, Good Samaritan struggled to solidify its financial base, leading to the dissolution of a previously developed master facility plan. Although approved by the hospital’s board and the city of Puyallup, Washington, the plan was phased over a number of years based on the projected financial condition of Good Samaritan as an independent hospital and property it owned at the time.

After the affiliation, when both of these factors changed and Good Samaritan had assembled a parcel of property, a new master plan was developed. “With the affiliation, we had greater access to capital and financial strength to decrease the timeline and move this project forward at a faster pace,” explained vice president of support services, Ed Burtnett. “Working with MultiCare also brought fresh ideas, which is another reason we have a new master facility plan.”

Million-dollar plan
As a CON (certificate of need) state, Washington regulates the number of medical beds allowed in a particular area. To the benefit of MultiCare and the city of Puyallup, Good Samaritan has the only CON in Eastern Pierce County, which also happens to be the fastest growing area in the county.

“A large piece of this process was getting approval from the city of Puyallup in a six-month period of time which, for a project of this size, is unprecedented,” said Burtnett. “The fact that it was approved by both boards and the city illustrates a strong and healthy government and private-sector partnership.”

The over-arching goal of the expansion project was to transform Good Samaritan into a regional medical center by replacing many its aging departments. In addition to needing new surgical and imaging departments, the hospital’s patient population had outgrown its ED capacity, which was built to handle 25,000 visits a year. This year, Burtnett said, the hospital expects to handle 60,000 visits.

Consequently, the $400 million master plan includes a new 46-room ED with all private treatment and exam bays. The new imaging department will include two cardiac cath labs, two CT scanners, and an MRI unit, and the new surgery department will initially include six ORs with the capacity to expand to eight.

The biggest piece of the project is an eight-story patient-care tower with 80 private patient rooms and shelled space on an upper floor capable of expanding and adding another 80 private patient rooms. “During the next eight to 10 years, we’ll continue to expand to bring our total number of new patient rooms to 160,” said Burtnett. “We will also have a 480-space parking structure, a new central utility plant, and a 60,000-square-foot medical office building.”

Obvious evolution
As it stands, Good Samaritan’s campus is loosely scattered over several city blocks and includes the main hospital, a freestanding CTU (children’s therapy unit), a freestanding cancer center, and three medical office buildings—two of which will eventually be demolished. When construction, set to begin in early 2008, is completed in 2010, Good Samaritan will be able to accommodate its community’s healthcare needs while providing a sense of being on a fully integrated healthcare campus.

The new patient tower will be located on a block between the existing hospital, cancer center, and CTU, increasing patient accessibility to all facilities. “We also intend to include a lot of green features, including landscaping to shield the parking structure and a large garden open to staff, families, physicians, and our neighbors,” said Burtnett. “We will additionally incorporate as many energy-saving technologies as possible.”

In addition to bringing a cohesive feel to Good Samaritan’s campus, the appointment of John Long to president in October 2006 brought a greater sense of partnership to the employees of the hospital and MultiCare. Long’s previous experience with healthcare institutions around Washington gave him the credibility he needed with the medical staff, said Burtnett, but it also gave him an understanding of the Good Samaritan and MultiCare systems.

“John was good at building our partnership with the city of Puyallup to facilitate the movement of this master plan through the approval process,” said Burtnett. “He is also working to evolve the culture at Good Samaritan to a more fast-paced, high-performing, and collaborative one. There is an alignment between the cultures of the two organizations, and because he came from the MultiCare system, it has been less of an uphill battle for him and more of an obvious evolution for us.”
 
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