New clinics, hospital making their debuts in Kent, Gig Harbor, Tacoma
There’s no shortage of new medical offerings in the area.
To review:
▪ MultiCare has opened a new family health clinic in Kent, 219 State Ave. N., replacing its former clinic across the street.
The former clinic will be demolished to add parking for the new site.
The clinic has the same services offered at the previous clinic and expands the space for its primary and women’s health care, occupational medicine and urgent care. The urgent care portion of the clinic is set to open Jan. 22.
The clinic notes it treats one of the most diverse populations in the nation and uses the In Demand video translation service, which draws from California-based pool of interpreters with medical backgrounds. Several clinic rooms have monitors and cameras for patients and interpreters to communicate.
A service provider at the site can choose from more than 100 languages (including sign language).
“We select a language and a gender, and a face pops up on the screen on the wall — it’s like they are in the room,” according to Kathy Dickman, MultiCare Kent Clinic supervisor, in a release announcing the clinic’s opening.
The clinic said that last year, nearly 2,000 appointments were conducted in languages other than English.
“Russian. Spanish. Arabic. Punjabi. Somali. For providers and staff at the MultiCare Kent Clinic, communicating with patients in any of these languages and many more is just another day at the clinic,” the health system said in its release.
Clinic hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
▪ Kaiser Permanente opened its new Gig Harbor clinic the day after Christmas. On Thursday (Jan. 17) Kaiser Permanente Washington leaders, as well as officials from Gig Harbor’s Chamber of Commerce and clinic staff, attended the site’s official ribbon cutting.
Since opening, according to Kaiser, the clinic has seen about 12 patients a day.
The clinic, 5216 Point Fosdick Drive NW, Suite 102, offers primary and pediatric care, mental health and wellness and lab services for Kaiser Permanente members.
Clinic hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and the second Saturday of each month, 8 a.m. to noon.
The Gig Harbor clinic is just the start of what’s to come. Kaiser plans to open four other locations in the region: South Lake Union, Ballard, Smokey Point and West Olympia.
▪ Opening in March is the Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital.
The two-story, 120-inpatient bed facility in Tacoma next to MultiCare’s Allenmore Hospital will offer “a focus on general adult psychiatric care, a crisis stabilization unit and outpatient services for adults 18 years and older,” according to Wellfound.
The new hospital is a joint venture of MultiCare and CHI Franciscan health systems and can care for 5,000 patients annually during full operation.
“The shortage of mental health services in our state is at an unprecedented level,” Ketul J. Patel, CHI Franciscan’s CEO, said in a statement.
The two health systems “are making an investment into the health and well-being of our communities and ensuring our most vulnerable populations receive the specialized care they deserve,” Patel said.
“Wellfound represents a significant development in taking care of patients and their families who need care for a range of mental health and substance abuse issues,” MultiCare CEO William Robertson said in a statement. “We are so proud of our community for stepping up to help support this much needed hospital.”
The hospital, 3402 S. 19th St., will offer tours, music and refreshments to the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 19). So as not to crowd out Allenmore parking, free parking for the event will be offered at at Life Center Church, 1717 S. Union Ave., with shuttle service to the open house.
The hospital also is hiring for various positions. Go to https://wellfoundbh.bamboohr.com/jobs/ to apply.
This story was originally published January 18, 2019 at 1:51 PM.
