Swedish To Hire 375 For Issaquah Highlands Campus

Bellevue and other Eastside residents will have a new facility for medical care beginning in July, as Swedish Medical Center opens a $365 million campus on the Issaquah Highlands. It will eventually have 175 beds.

About 375 employees are expected to be hired by the end of this year to help staff the 550,000-square-foot campus, Swedish officials said during a recent media tour. They will be part of an eventual 1,200-person staff.

"We're ramping up and hiring," John Milne, Swedish vice president for medical affairs, said.

The new employees will join Swedish staff members who will transfer from other facilities to what officials are calling the "first full-scale medical complex to be built in King County in more than 40 years."

The hiring should give the Seattle-area economy a boost. Milne encouraged potential applicants to keep an eye on the hospital's website for details. Officials have said they will be hiring nurses, administrative staff, managers and retail and security employees.

For East Bellevue residents, the Swedish/Issaquah complex at 751 NE Blakely Dr. will be one of the closest comprehensive medical campuses on the Eastside a.

One of the driving factors for the five-story medical building on 12.5 acres was the growing population in the area. Swedish officials believe the new campus can serve a primary market of about 150,000 people. Those residents are from Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend and South Bellevue. But the Greater Eastside area, they added, has a total of about 500,000 residents - and they could seek care at Swedish/Issaquah.

"It's still a market that is growing and we felt it was underserved," Kevin Brown, Swedish chief strategic officer, said.

In market surveys, people explained that they did not want to get stuck in traffic when they were trying to get medical care, he added. In recent years, the number of people living along the Interstate 90 corridor has boomed. Swedish/Issaquah sits off the highway.

Because this part of the Eastside has numerous families - and parents to be - Swedish/Issaquah will have four birth triage rooms, eight delivery suites, dozens of postpartum beds and areas for scheduled cesarean procedures.

"We expect the labor and delivery area to be busy," Brown said.

The Swedish/Issaquah campus will open in phases. July 14 is the date to open the medical office building, primary and specialty clinics, cancer center, emergency department, laboratory and breast care center.

On Nov. 15, officials are expected to offer inpatient services and hospital beds. On July 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Swedish will hold a community open house event, which will feature tours and kids activities.

Swedish is paying for the construction through cash and bonds, which are similar to ones that cities use, Brown said.

Swedish/Issaquah is about a 35-minute drive from Snoqulamie Pass, making it one of the closest comprehensive medical facilities to that area. The Snoqualmie Pass area is popular with hikers, skiers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Swedish/Issaquah also will have space to land a medical helicopter, should that be necessary. But people who suffer serious trauma will be taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Brown said.

Swedish officials said the campus will be one of the most energy efficient of its kind in the Seattle area.

While Swedish has other campuses in the Seattle region, such as its Redmond location, the Issaquah complex is part of its "integration" plan. For example, doctors who specialize in certain areas might see patients at various Swedish locations, including the Issaquah Highlands complex.

Construction started on the new campus in 2009. Of the $365 million for the entire campus, the hospital makes up about $200 million and the cancer center and office building make up about $165 million.

The eating area at Swedish/Issaquah will promote healthy options. Childcare is expected to be provided at the campus for families who are visiting patients for an hourly fee.