Rural Wash. Hospital To Break Ground

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — The new PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center will he hosting a groundbreaking ceremony in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island on July 23. Federal, state and local leaders will join the San Juan community in breaking ground for the new primary care and specialty clinic, and Critical Access Hospital.
 
The hospital will include an expanded primary care and specialty clinic, an enhanced diagnostic services center, a cancer care center providing chemotherapy and other treatments, a 24-hour emergency room, and a ten-bed Critical Access Hospital, which will replace San Juan Island’s existing rural health clinic.
 
Scheduled to open in late 2012, the building incorporates the latest environmentally sensitive and sustainable design and construction concepts and will feature natural ventilation, a ground-source heat pump system, carbon neutrality and extensive day lighting.
 
Mahlum is the architect and Howard S. Wright is the builder.
 
The San Juan Island Community Foundation is providing fundraising and support for the groundbreaking. In 2006 the foundation recognized the need to address the local crisis in healthcare delivery and to assure better financial stability for island healthcare while expanding services, according to the organization.
 
Through numerous community activities, the group has been instrumental in bringing the Peace Island Medical Center project to fruition.
 
The San Juan Island Community Foundation, established in 1994, by a group of island residents who sought to encourage and support the work of local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation explores the concerns of these organizations, looking for both traditional and innovative ideas, according to the group. By pooling donations from island residents, the foundation makes grants to help cover those needs.
 
PeaceHealth is a Washington-based nonprofit healthcare system serving multiple rural and urban communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, PeaceHealth has provided medicine and compassionate care to Northwest communities for more than a century, including serving the needs of small and remote communities through the operation of three Critical Access Hospitals.
 
PeaceHealth annually receives national recognition for innovations in patient-centered care, patient safety and healthcare technology. Research published in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety ranked PeaceHealth as one of the top five quality of care healthcare systems in the country, and the leading system in the western U.S.