Swedish VP Kevin Brown tells GlobeSt.com that lease negotiations for the ER complex should be complete in the next couple of weeks. The current plan is for Swedish to take control of the property in September and open the facility in February 2005. Brown declined to get specific about the building until negotiations are complete, but the likely property is I-90 Lake Place I, Building B, a 55,225-sf building at 2005 NW Sammamish Rd. that is largely unoccupied.

Swedish representatives met Thursday afternoon with City of Issaquah officials to discuss the details of the emergency room complex. Swedish expects to spend between $16 million and $20 million to build-out the space. Swedish also filed a letter of intent with Washington State Department of Health officials, notifying them of the medical center's long-term plans to file a formal Certificate-of-Need application to build a new nonprofit community hospital in Issaquah.

"After conducting significant consumer research and studying population growth patterns, we believe locating these services in Issaquah supports both the needs of the residents and our nonprofit mission of serving the region," says Swedish chief executive Richard Petersen. "The Eastside is growing at an exceptional rate, and some areas, especially Issaquah, remain significantly underserved when it comes to specialty and emergency healthcare services."

Swedish has been exploring ways to expand services to the Eastside for several years. As things stand now, Swedish is the second-largest provider of inpatient services to Eastside residents living along the I-90 corridor and the third-largest inpatient provider to Eastside residents overall. Swedish also operates two primary-care clinics and a number of specialty clinics at Eastside locations, including Bellevue/Crossroads, Factoria and Pine Lake.

"We know that Eastside residents want more services available locally and they are very receptive to the idea of Swedish providing those services," says Brown. "Beyond what we are hearing from residents, we have also heard from our physicians; nearly one-third of the physicians on our medical staff either live or practice on the Eastside, and many have expressed a strong desire for Swedish to have an even greater presence there."

Instant Insights /

Swedish Medical Opening ER in Issaquah

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