CHI Franciscan Health, the parent company of Harrison Medical Center since their affiliation in 2014, formally submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Washington State Department of Health requesting regulatory approval to make a significant investment in a newhospital at Harrison Medical Center-Silverdale, according to a press release.
This is the first step in the regulatory requirement process for filing a Certificate of Need (CON) application.
“This is a proud step in our commitment to be the destination medical center for Kitsap County and the Olympic Peninsula,” said CEO Ketul J. Patel, CHI Franciscan Health. “Expanding our Silverdale campus will ensure our communities have access to a state-of-the-art facility that will provide enhanced, top quality health services for the region.”
In addition, the Silverdale expansion will also move and expand a number of world-class medical and surgical services to the expanded facility. At this time, the plan to move beds involves a phased approach to parallel construction and expansion of Silverdale. Phase one will involve the transfer of 168 inpatient beds while retaining 85 licensed beds on the Bremerton license until the expansion is complete, the press release notes.
The estimated cost of phase one is $283 million, with phase two projected to cost $201 million. In all, CHI Franciscan Health expects to invest over $530 million to further enhance the best-practice health care services in Kitsap County and the Olympic Peninsula.
CHI Franciscan expects to submit the full CON application to state regulators later this year.
CHI Franciscan Health is a non-profit health system based in Tacoma, Wash., with a team of nearly 12,000 doctors, nurses and staff that provide expert, compassionate medical care at eight acute care hospitals and more than 100 primary and specialty care clinics in Pierce, King and Kitsap counties.
This includes St. Anthony Hospital, Gig Harbor; St. Clare Hospital, Lakewood; St. Elizabeth Hospital, Enumclaw; St. Francis Hospital, Federal Way; St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma; Harrison Medical Center, Bremerton and Silverdale; Highline Medical Center, Burien; and Regional Hospital, Burien. Started in 1891 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, today CHI Franciscan Health is one of the largest health systems in Washington state. The system spans more than 1,100 acute care beds, a credentialed medical staff of more than 1,500 including approximately 800 employed physicians providing specialties in cardiovascular care, cancer care, orthopedics and sports medicine, neurosciences and women’s care.
