New emergency facility and med center tower expand services for VMFH patients
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- VMFH opened 60,000 sq ft tower at St. Michael’s, adding 74 beds.
- New Port Orchard hybrid ED/urgent care offers 24/7 ED, lab and radiology.
- Expansion aims to relieve busy ED and grow specialties including cardiology.
A Tacoma health system has expanded with a new patient tower at one of its regional hospitals.
A second hybrid Emergency Department and Urgent Care also is now operating in Port Orchard under the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health network. VMFH opened its first hybrid site in Bremerton earlier this year.
On Dec. 9, officials celebrated the opening of a new 60,000-square-foot North Tower at St. Michael Medical Center, expanding capacity by 74 beds.
The new tower is designed to “to relieve its busy emergency department (ED) and improve access to specialty care,” according to the health system.
St. Michael made headlines in 2022 during the pandemic when an overwhelmed ER staff called 911 to help transport patients elsewhere. VMFH says the hospital continues to have one of the busiest emergency departments in the state.
The medical center has operated at its current Silverdale location for five years. The expansion also adds 10 new physicians and more than 65 team members.
“The new tower capacity will support growth for specialties such as spine surgery, orthopedics, OB-GYN, cardiology, gastroenterology, and cancer care, among others,” the health system said in a release.
As for the new Port Orchard facility, a VMFH media representative told The News Tribune via email that patients from Gig Harbor already have used the Bremerton hybrid ED/urgent location and are anticipated “to utilize the Port Orchard location for care.”
The Gig Harbor/Key Peninsula area is locally served by St. Anthony Hospital, another VMFH property, which is also home to the Jane Thompson Russell Cancer Care Center in the Milgard Medical Pavilion.
The new Port Orchard hybrid location operates seven days a week and is fully equipped with an onsite lab and a radiology suite.
The new ED/urgent care is at 450 S. Kitsap Blvd., Suite 100, Port Orchard. The ED is open 24 hours a day and urgent care operates 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
VMFH, which has 10 hospitals and 300 care sites in the Puget Sound region, is part of Chicago-based CommonSpirit, one of the largest U.S. health systems.
