Tag Archives: harrison medical center

Harrison Medical Center earns patient safety award

Harrison Medical Center earned an award last week recognizing its success in improving patient safety.

The Washington State Hospital Association honored Harrison with a 2016 Achieving Best Care Award for attaining high scores in reducing patient harm, according to a news release from CHI Franciscan Health.

The award recognizes sustained improvements in five categories: infection, falls, early elective deliveries, sepsis and pressure ulcers.

“The safety of our patients is paramount to providing high quality medical care and ensuring our patients get back to their daily lives as quickly as possible,” CHI Franciscan Peninsula region President David Schultz said in the release.

“This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our providers, nurses and staff in making patient safety our top priority.”

You can find detailed quality scores for Harrison Medical Center here.

CHI Franciscan names chief medical officer

Michael Anderson
Michael Anderson

Former Harrison Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Anderson has been tabbed to fill the same role for all of CHI Franciscan Health.

CHI Franciscan announced Anderson as its new chief medical officer Monday. He was named to the position in an interim capacity in February.

Anderson will oversee medical operations, medical staff services, regulatory compliance and quality of care for all eight CHI Franciscan hospitals, including Harrison.

“With Dr. Anderson’s guidance, we will continue to elevate physician leadership within our system to position us to set the standard for quality care, patient safety, and patient outcomes,” CHI Franciscan CEO Ketul J. Patel said in an announcement.

Anderson received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, and his master’s in health administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

He previously served as medical officer to the Marine Corps and medical inspector general for the Navy.

Harrison foundation names executive director

James, Barbara (retouched)
Barbara James

Harrison Medical Center Foundation has selected Barbara James to serve as the organization’s executive director.

James joined the foundation on July 11, according to a news release.

Her primary focus will be raising money for Harrison Medical Center, including the new Silverdale hospital campus.

“Barbara will be a vital member of our Harrison Medical Center Foundation team,” David Schultz, market president of the CHI Franciscan Peninsula Region said in the release.

“We are excited that she has agreed to lead the Harrison Foundation team as we embark on a major fundraising campaign for the hospital.”

James has more than 25 years of leadership experience with public and private organizations, supporting social and child services, education and health care.

She most recently served as director of philanthropy for the Franciscan Foundation, where she led $3.5 million capital campaign for an upgrade of the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma.

James replaces former foundation director Stephanie Cline, who now works with MultiCare.

Why not convert Harrison Bremerton into affordable housing?

Harrison Medical Center’s consolidation in Silverdale will leave a 450,000-square-foot hospital vacant in East Bremerton three years from now.

FeelingTheSqueezeHarrison parent company CHI Franciscan Health is still determining if the building can be repurposed or should be torn down.

Given the looming affordable housing crisis in Kitsap, reader Kim Edgar in Poulsbo wondered if Harrison Bremerton could be converted into dorm rooms for Olympic College students or some other form of low-cost housing.

“The rooms are large enough to be dorm rooms and they have their own bathrooms,” Edgar pointed out in an email.

674094_5539855_ver1.0_640_480-1“Throw in a small fridge and a microwave and you’ve got a dorm room. They could convert the nurses station in to a common room, laundry room and a common kitchen area.

“Or, maybe Kitsap Housing Authority could turn the hospital into an affordable apartment complex and possible temporary housing for the homeless.”

Edgar probably isn’t the only Kitsap resident eyeing the Harrison Bremerton building as a potential home for affordable rentals, so I asked Kurt Wiest with Bremerton Housing Authority if the idea sounded feasible.

“The simple answer,” Wiest said, “is it’s complicated.”

The Housing Authority has been interested in the site since Harrison announced its relocation plans. But Wiest said retrofitting the aging hospital into apartments would almost certainly be cost prohibitive.

Since portions of the building were built decades ago, Wiest said there are likely hazardous materials like lead or asbestos present that would make residential conversion a complex and expensive prospect.

Wiest believes there is potential to create housing at the Cherry Avenue campus if the hospital is demolished. Much will depend on what CHI Franciscan decides to do with the property.

Have an idea for creating affordable housing in Kitsap? Drop a comment below or write me at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com.

Harrison sees big increase in ER visits

Harrison Medical Center has seen a steep increase in ER visits at a time when hospitals are working to reduce patients’ dependence on emergency care.

The number of visits to Harrison’s emergency departments in Bremerton and Silverdale jumped from 67,965 in fiscal year 2014 to 79,950 in fiscal year 2015, an change of nearly 18 percent.

(Harrison’s fiscal year runs July through June.)

The Harrison ERs remained busy in the second half of 2015, receiving another 39,468 visits.

The increase in emergency department use was somewhat surprising given Harrison’s recent success in reducing preventable ER visits. 

It was also hoped the rollout of the Affordable Care Act and expansion of Medicaid would lower emergency department dependence, as more residents gained access to primary and specialty care. Only 5.6 percent of Kitsap residents lacked health insurance in 2014.

So why are ER visits still climbing at Harrison?

The hospital noted three possible factors in an email this week: 

I haven’t seen figures for how many emergency visits the Naval hospital received before the conversion, but the facility serves a large population. About 29,000 active-duty service members, retirees and their families are enrolled at the hospital.

  • There’s a shortage of primary care providers in Kitsap. Even as residents gain health coverage, they may still struggle to access care.

Harrison is launching a residency program over the next few years with the hopes of injecting more young doctors into Kitsap’s medical community.

Harrison reaches agreement with First Choice Health

674094_5539855_ver1.0_640_480-1An agreement has been reached that will keep Harrison Medical Center “in-network” for First Choice Health customers.

The hospital and insurance carrier announced a three-year contract extension on Sept. 28.

“We are extremely pleased that we have been able to come to an agreement with First Choice Health on a new contract,” Harrison President David Schultz said in a news release. “This contract allows our patients to have uninterrupted access to all the providers and services Harrison Medical Center has to offer and enhances the financial stability of both organizations.”

Negotiations had hit a sticking point late last summer, with the contract set to terminate Sept. 1. A temporary extension gave the two sides an additional month to negotiate.

About 1,300 Harrison patients are covered by First Choice.

Former RFM architects launch new firm

After years spent spearheading projects for Bremerton’s Rice Fergus Miller, two architects drew up plans for their own firm this year.

guyt
Robert Guyt

The architects are Robert Guyt and Matt King. The firm, which launched about a month ago, is called Blue Architecture + Interiors. 

Guyt said he and King were ready to “chart their own course,” and felt the timing was right with the economy recovering and development picking up.

The architects are pursuing a variety of projects on both sides of Puget Sound. King is based in Seattle, while Guyt works out of Bremerton.

king
Matt King

Hospitality is Guyt’s specialty. He led design of the Clearwater Casino Resort hotel and conference center expansion, as well as the Spyglass Hill apartments in Bremerton.

King headed the health care studio at Rice Fergus Miller. His resume includes Harrison Medical Center’s Silverdale orthopedic hospital, and other facilities completed for Harrison, Overlake Hospital and Harborview Medical Center.

The duo often partnered on projects, incorporating design concepts from both industries.

Guyt said they plan to grow their new practice gradually.

“We want to be measured,” he said, “because our intention is to be around for a long time.”

See the Blue Architecture page on Facebook for updates.

Contributed photos

First Choice/Harrison deadline extended

674094_5539855_ver1.0_640_480-1We can pass along some hopeful news for West Sound residents covered by First Choice Health plans.

The contract between the health insurance carrier and Harrison Medical Center has been extended to Sept. 30, according to Scott Thompson, spokesman for Harrison parent company CHI Franciscan Health.

The contract between First Choice and Harrison was set to terminate on Sept. 1 if a new deal couldn’t be reached this month.

Thompson said the temporary extension will allow the sides more time to negotiate.

“It’s a good sign, from our perspective, that we want to keep talking,” he said.

Thompson said records indicate more than 1,300 patients would be affected if the First Choice contract did terminate.

The contract applies only to Harrison’s hospital facilities. Harrison HealthPartners providers and clinics are covered under a separate contract with First Choice, and would remain in-network if the contract terminated. CHI Franciscan facilities would also remain in-network.

This post was updated with additional information from Thompson.

Hints about a new Harrison Bremerton

David Schultz
David Schultz

Tuesday’s Kitsap Business Forum focused on changes in health care.

One of the biggest changes locally is of course the impending consolidation of Harrison Medical Center’s acute care services in Silverdale. And one of the questions arising from that move is how large a presence Harrison will maintain in Bremerton.

Harrison (and St. Anthony) President David Schultz joined a six-member health care panel at the forum. He fielded a couple of questions about the hospital relocation during the morning conversation.

Schultz was asked what the impact Harrison’s move will have on the ability for seniors, students and low income residents of Bremerton to access health care.

He began his answer by noting only 14 percent of Harrison’s inpatient visits originate in Bremerton.

“We have a lot more outpatient visits coming out of Bremerton than we do inpatients, so we’re really going to focus on the development of an ambulatory center,” Schultz said.

“We’re going to have an ambulatory facility that focuses on primary care, urgent care, we’re going to have imaging, lab, we’re going to have the ability to have specialists rotating into the clinic.

“So we’re still going to have a significant presence in Bremerton, it’s just not going to be your acute inpatient beds.”

Shultz’s statement was the most detailed description we’ve heard of a future Harrison clinic in Bremerton.

It remains to be seen what will become of Harrison’s East Bremerton hospital building. That topic wasn’t raised at the forum.

GraphicTempHarrison convened an advisory task force to help guide its plans in Bremerton. The task force made its recommendations to the Harrison board in March, but the recommendations weren’t made public. The board is expected to make a decision later this year.

At the forum, Schultz was also asked about what effect Harrison’s Silverdale expansion will have on traffic.

He discussed the intersection and road improvements Harrison is committed to funding (we detailed those recently) and said the hospital is coordinating with Kitsap Transit on a possible new transfer station. 

Harrison president will also lead St. Anthony

20090626-204356-pic-934221171_5654090_ver1.0_640_480Harrison Medical Center President David Schultz is taking on leadership of St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor.

Schultz will replace current St. Anthony President Kurt Schley at the end of July, according to a news release from CHI Franciscan Health, parent company of Harrison and St. Anthony.

Schley is leaving to become CEO of CHI St. Alexius Health in Bismarck, North Dakota. 

Schultz was named president of CHI Franciscan’s Peninsula Region, which includes the Harrison campuses in Bremerton and Silverdale, as well as St. Anthony.

“This will help us maximize the delivery of high quality, seamless care and improve patient access to our communities on the peninsula,” CHI Franciscan CEO Ketul Patel said in the release. 

Schultz joined Harrison in December, replacing former CEO and President Scott Bosch.

St. Anthony (pictured above) opened in 2009. The 80-bed hospital offers 24-hour emergency care, cancer treatment, surgery and pharmacy services.

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