A Seattle Chamber study mission comes full circle at Harborview

WHEN the call came that our 17-year-old granddaughter, Kara Duff-Dings, had been severely injured in a high-speed head-on collision after a motor home crossed the center lane near the Hood Canal Bridge, it helped to know that she was being airlifted to the top trauma hospital serving this region. In fact, Harborview Medical Center is the only Level I trauma and burn center serving Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. As we raced there, I knew there was no better place she could be.

Many difficult weeks later, our granddaughter is home and healing — an outcome for which I will forever thank God and be grateful to the dedicated health-care team that saved her life and the life of her friend, Annie Baucke, who was also airlifted to Harborview from the accident scene.

And as they both heal, I've had time to think back about beginnings, about partnerships and collaborations, and how Harborview came to be such a world-renowned public hospital that cares for everyone who crosses its threshold, including our community's most vulnerable patients.

In 1987, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce was preparing for that year's Intercity Study Mission (ISM) to Tampa and Orlando, Fla. Since study missions began in 1983, the idea has been to bring together the region's government, business and community leaders to travel to cities — both at home and abroad — and study best practices. It takes a look at the Northwest region from another city's perspective in terms of strong community, strategic partnerships and smart growth.

The 1987 study mission agenda included a stop at Disney Imagineering in Orlando, the creative force behind Disney theme parks; the group would later complete a major study of the Seattle Center. In Tampa, our newly formed cruise ship task force studied the industry and took home the momentum needed to establish a cruise ship home port in Seattle.

We also toured Tampa General Hospital, which was the area's only Level I trauma center and one of four burn centers in Florida, able to airlift critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the lifesaving care needed.

We returned to Seattle and turned our attention to Harborview. Here was a gemstone of a Level 1 trauma center serving a four-state region, but in need of important upgrades. Since its beginnings in 1877 as a six-bed King County Hospital in South Seattle, through the move in 1931 to its present location overlooking Puget Sound, it has served the medical needs of the growing region.

However, decades later, much-needed improvements and additional space had become crucial to carry the hospital forward into the 21st century. The Seattle Chamber helped pave the way to passage of a $131 million bond issue in the fall of 1987, which voters approved to expand and upgrade Harborview to meet the growing needs of the county and revitalize the aging hospital.

Today, Harborview Medical Center is owned by King County and managed by the University of Washington as part of the UW Medicine health system. It is renowned for its trauma and burn care, plus a host of specialty care and medical discoveries.

And Harborview has continued to grow. The new 14-story Ninth & Jefferson Building offers expanded specialty services. The state-of-the-art Norm Maleng Building, named in honor of the late King County prosecutor, was built to the highest seismic standards and houses new operating rooms as well as additional critical- and acute-care beds.

As we visited our granddaughter at Harborview, I reflected on life and how the choices, the pursuits, and the investments we support often circle around to help, in turn, when help is needed most. The Seattle Chamber's Intercity Study Missions have resulted in positive and lasting community achievements, bringing together leaders across sectors to study and share best practices to ensure this region continues to thrive in a competitive world.

Like Harborview, it's an investment that needs to continue, for the community, for the region and for the people who matter to us most.