Providence sees need for 17 more beds now

Published 11:27 pm Friday, August 24, 2007

EVERETT — Providence Everett Medical Center wants to add 17 more hospital beds by next spring to keep up with demand until its new $500 million medical tower opens in 2011.

Adding the beds and moving other departments to make room will cost an estimated $2 million, said Dave Brooks, the hospital’s chief operating officer.

“The demand is right now,” he said, and the hospital can’t wait for the new tower, which will add 106 beds.

The plan must be approved by the state Department of Health, which reviews hospital expansion plans.

The number of patients admitted to the hospital during the first seven months of this year has increased 8 percent over the same period last year, he said.

“That’s twice what we had budgeted,” Brooks said. “We can’t continue to handle that demand with our current capacity.”

The hospital wants to add six beds to a 14-bed unit at its Pacific Avenue campus and 11 more beds on the third floor of its Colby Avenue campus.

Over the past three years, the hospital has added 45 beds to keep up with demand.

If the state approves adding 17 more beds, it will be using all 362 beds it’s licensed to operate, Brooks said.

The additional beds would allow the hospital to admit 1,800 more patients a year, he said. Currently, about 24,000 people are admitted to the hospital each year.

Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.