MultiCare Allenmore Hospital can now care for 10,000 more patients a year
By MultiCare Health System
The first phase of MultiCare Allenmore Hospital’s emergency department expansion is now complete and opens today, Dec. 10.
The $15 million investment adds 14,600 square feet to the facility and enables Allenmore to care for up to 10,000 additional patients each year.
“The expanded emergency department at Allenmore means that area residents will have better access to critical health care when they need it,” said Bill Robertson, President and CEO of MultiCare. “We are proud to open this new facility that helps us deliver on our mission of partnering for healing and a healthy future.”
The completed construction project, which broke ground in January, enables staff to see more than 40,000 patients a year — a 30 percent increase over the approximate 30,000 patients the emergency department currently serves on an annual basis. The expansion also brings updated amenities and features that allow for faster access to care while at the same time helping improve patient experience, safety and flow.
“We’ve come a long way since 1929 when Allenmore was a seven-bed hospital,” said Sharon Oxendale, President and COO of MultiCare Tacoma General Allenmore Hospital. “We have grown to a 130-licensed bed facility.”
This is the first phase of the project that included the new building with four triage rooms, four exam rooms, a results-pending area for lower acuity patients needing minimal testing, two resuscitation rooms, four reduced-risk rooms for behavioral health patients, a decontamination room and additional work spaces for nurses, providers and specialists.
The second phase construction is expected to be completed in March 2020 and will include increased space for staff support, a bariatric room with specialty restroom and lift, a nutrition room for patients and a connection to the phase 1 addition.
The expansion of this emergency department was made possible through donations from members of our community and Tacoma Emergency Care Physicians at Rock the Foundation. Rock the Foundation is MultiCare Health Foundation’s annual fundraising event, focused on supporting healthy futures for South Sound residents and families.
