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.
Harrison
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.
