On Feb. 24, the Board of Commissioners for Public Hospital District #2 of Snohomish County, which operates Stevens Hospital, approved an agreement for Swedish Hoispital to lease and assume management of the health care facility.
The agreement moved the hospital much closer to finalizing its coming agreement with Swedish hospital to operate and manage Stevens. Regulatory agency approvals are the next step and could be completed by early fall.
A hospital affiliation supports the priorities of a strategic plan developed in 2008 with input from the community. The strategic plan focuses on expanded services and programs, quality of care and safety, recruitment of additional high-quality physicians and clinical staff, financial performance and stability, community relationships, and the enhancement of Stevens Hospital’s status as a preferred healthcare provider.
“This affiliation is a win for the community and for everyone involved,” said Fred Langer, board of commissioners president for the district. “It really helps us meet the mission of the district to improve the health and well being of the community.”
As part of the definitive written agreement, Swedish has committed between $90 and $150 million in general investments in Stevens, including building improvements, expansion of services and implementation of an electronic medical records system.
The hospital district will continue to exist to provide additional health services to the community. It will have initial cash reserves of $16 million and will receive monthly lease payments of at least $600,000.
The district will undergo a strategic planning process to determine priority focus areas, but some ideas discussed include supporting and/or operating community clinics, supporting health awareness and improvement programs, and/or developing a collaborative mental-health provider network.
“The financial commitment Swedish is prepared to make will allow the hospital district to provide healthcare services not previously possible,” said Langer
The two healthcare providers are financially strong. In fact, Stevens ended 2009 with a total operating income of $11 million-money that will be reinvested into the hospital’s services and programs.
“We were able to negotiate terms from a position of strength,” explained Michael Carter, Stevens Hospital CEO and president. “Unlike a number of local hospitals, we had good years financially in 2008 and 2009.”
Even though Stevens Hospital is financially strong, it needed to seek a strong partner to ensure it continues to improve and grow the services of the hospital to meet the growing needs of the community.
In Snohomish County, the population grew from 172,199 in 1960 to 704,300 residents in 2009 as estimated by the Washington State Office of Financial Management. The Emergency Department at Stevens was originally designed for 25,000 patients a year and now the hospital treats more than 40,000.
“We are excited about what this partnership will bring to residents of South Snohomish County,” said Cal Knight, president and chief operating officer of Swedish. “Stevens and Swedish have worked together for 19 years to make specialty healthcare more accessible and convenient, so it makes sense to collaborate more closely. Through a new affiliation, we will be better positioned to achieve our shared goals of increasing access to health care in the local community, enhancing the quality of care and reducing costs, all of which are critical in an era of healthcare reform.”
Also, Stevens Hospital has just implemented a reorganization of its emergency room so that patients with less severe injuries or illness can be treated and released much more quickly than before without without adversely affecting the more intensive care that severely injured or ill patients need.
The goal is to reduce wait times at Steven’s ER center. Last year, with swine flu cases adding to the problems, wait times stretched to nearly 3.5 hour between arrival and departure times.
The new system will cut patient waiting times, in part through better coordination of care.
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