By Kevin Hanson-The Courier-Herald
From the outside, it may seem things have operated quietly since Enumclaw Regional Hospital joined forces with Franciscan Health System, a giant on the local healthcare scene.
But nothing could be further from the truth, according to Dennis Popp, executive director of the local hospital.
Popp said representatives from ERH and Franciscan are continuing to work on the transition process, melding the Enumclaw facility into the larger system while maintaining the small hospital's independent streak. Concurrently, teams are making progress on plans that will result in a new hospital in Enumclaw.
Regarding a new facility, Popp was anticipating a major hurdle would be cleared this week, when a Building and Property Committee was to select the architectural firm that will be charged with designing Enumclaw's new hospital. The committee, Popp said, includes representatives from ERH and Franciscan, along with Joe Kunkle, who has been hired to oversee the building project from start to finish.
The committee received a sales pitch from four firms, Popp said, then narrowed the field to three and spent two days evaluating the qualifications of each finalist. Of the competing firms, he said, two are from Seattle and one is from Yakima. As part of the selection process, committee members have visited facilities in Yakima, Pullman, Wash., and Newburg, Ore., Popp said.
“These are big architectural firms,” he said, adding that committee members are going to great lengths “to make sure we get a good fit.”
Once an architect is picked, the next major hurdle will be to call for bids and then select a general contractor, Popp said.
Everything is geared toward beginning construction in 2008, Popp said. Building a new hospital is expected to take two years and cost about $40 million.
The new Enumclaw Regional Hospital will be built directly north of the current facility, across Battersby Avenue, on land owned by the hospital.
With regard to the getting-to-know-each-other process, Popp said things are going smoothly between Enumclaw Regional and Franciscan.
Members of a Transition Committee, he said, are “talking about things that will benefit Enumclaw now or in the coming years.” Some of those items will be put in writing later this month, Popp said, explaining that topics could range from patient care and support services to human resources.
“We're laying out a couple dozen of these projects,” Popp said.
The general tone from Franciscan representatives, he said, is that Enumclaw has successfully operated a hospital for years and shouldn't do anything dramatically different.
Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@courierherald.com.
