Local

5 stories of growth at a WA hospital with one of the busiest ERs in the U.S.

Stories by Tacoma News Tribune journalists, with AI summarization

This collection of stories explores the growth happening at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup.

The hospital’s emergency department is among the nation’s busiest per capita. Construction plans for a 160-bed patient care tower aim to increase capacity.

Recent changes include the appointment of a new hospital president and the opening of a hybrid operating room that expands cardiac treatment options. New technology like the DaVinci ION robotic system helps doctors diagnose lung cancer sooner.

The hospital’s rehab center recently celebrated 70 years serving patients with life-altering injuries or illnesses.

Read the stories below.

Volunteer Randy Collins says the Rehabilitation Center at Good Samaritan Hospital “has really helped me to be a person again” after an ATV accident 11 years ago that left him bedridden with limited movement and a traumatic brain injury. He is shown during his cleaning shift at the hospital in Puyallup, Washington, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. By Tony Overman

NO. 1: ‘GIVEN ME MY LIFE BACK.’ PIERCE COUNTY REHAB CENTER LOOKS BACK ON 70 YEARS OF SERVICE

Some of its staff were once patients. | Published December 23, 2024 | Read Full Story by csailor@thenewstribune.comCraig Sailor

Multicare announced Feb. 10, 2025 that Dawn Anuszkiewicz is the new president of Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup. By LIV BERGER

NO. 2: THIS PIERCE COUNTY HOSPITAL HAS ONE OF THE BUSIEST ERS IN THE U.S. MEET ITS NEW PRESIDENT

The hospital had 169,896 visits in 2024. It’s the fourth-busiest emergency department per capita in the U.S. | Published February 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Isabela Lund

Guests of a tour look at large imaging devices that are part of a new hybrid operating room that was open for viewing on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Wash. The new operating room cost roughly $6m to build and will open to patients in early March. By Pete Caster

NO. 3: NEW HYBRID OPERATING ROOM GIVES THIS PIERCE COUNTY HOSPITAL MORE OPTIONS FOR CARDIAC CARE

The new unit will support minimally invasive procedures and is on track to start seeing patients next month. | Published February 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by Debbie Cockrell

A syringe is attached to the arm of the DaVinci ION robotic surgery system by Abhishek Biswas, a pulmonologist with Multicare Health, during a lung biopsy procedure on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Wash. By Liesbeth Powers

NO. 4: PUYALLUP HOSPITAL’S NEW ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTIONIZES LUNG CANCER DIAGNOSIS

After the procedure, patients can get a diagnosis as early as 45 minutes after doctors wrap up. | Published May 27, 2025 | Read Full Story by Isabela Lund

MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Wash., on Monday, March 16, 2020. A Puyallup woman in her 50s who was a patient at Good Samaritan was the first person in Piece County to die from complications due to COVID-19. By Joshua Bessex

NO. 5: WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH MULTICARE’S $430M PATIENT TOWER PROJECT IN PUYALLUP?

The Pierce County hospital has one of the busiest emergency departments per capita in the United States. | Published June 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Isabela Lund

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.