Swedish files plan for new hospital

By Nick Perry
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most e-mailed articles

Those and other new details emerged yesterday when the Seattle-based nonprofit filed a 340-page application with the state Department of Health. Swedish first announced plans in March to build an Issaquah hospital, a project it now estimates would cost $197 million.

Bellevue-based Overlake Hospital Medical Center has announced it plans to file a competing application for an Issaquah hospital. An Overlake spokeswoman said yesterday those plans will be filed within the next few weeks so state authorities can consider the two proposals at the same time.

Such competition for a new hospital would be unprecedented, state officials noted. Either new general hospital would be the first to be built in King County since 1985.

It's likely the state could allow only one of the proposals to go forward, to avoid having duplicate hospital services in the city.

Swedish announced it has signed options to buy two possible sites. The preferred site is 15 acres of sloping, undeveloped land east of Highland Drive. The fallback option is a 30-acre site close to Southeast Newport Way and Interstate 90. Other sites haven't been ruled out.

Swedish spokesman Ed Boyle said the proposed 352,000-square-foot, 175-bed Swedish Issaquah Campus would provide a broad range of inpatient and outpatient services — including oncology, cardiac care, obstetrics, pediatrics, general surgery and intensive care.

The hospital buildings would take up about 10 acres and would be built in stages. The first 80 beds would open in 2009, with 40 more to open in 2012 and the final 55 in 2016. Swedish plans to pay for the hospital by accumulating reserves over coming years.

The cost, initially estimated at $175 million, has risen as Swedish researched the needs of each hospital department and found land to be more expensive than anticipated, said Kevin Brown, a Swedish vice president who is leading the project.

Officials at Overlake declined to release details of its proposed 120-bed hospital before submitting a formal application. Overlake CEO Ken Graham has previously acknowledged that the state is likely to choose only one of the proposals.

Karen Nidermayer, an analyst with the state Department of Health, said the state will screen the two applications for completeness, then likely hold a public hearing in Issaquah in the fall. An initial decision could be made within eight months, but appeals could stretch the approval process to two years, she said.
 
Swedish, meanwhile, is moving ahead with an $18 million, free-standing emergency room, which it plans to open next February near Lake Sammamish State Park.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com