A recent expansion at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way made substantial improvements to cardiac care for patients. In January, the hospital celebrated the completion of its project, which converted existing space into an expanded suite for patients receiving emergency and outpatient cardiac and interventional radiology care.
The project also included building a cardiac catheterization lab to treat patients who need emergency and urgent catheterization and stenting, and a separate interventional radiology/vascular lab for patients needing biopsies, ports, drains, stents and other procedures. The project has been several years in the making, and construction took about 11 months, though it was done in phases so the hospital could continue caring for patients throughout the duration of the project.
Every aspect of the expansion was carefully designed, and the layout was determined using mock procedures, using boxes as stand-in equipment, and furniture to determine to how to best make use of the space. CHI Franciscan also brought in new technologies that allow staff to perform minimally invasive procedures in two labs.
St. Francis converted existing space into an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation office with treadmills, recumbent steppers and bicycles, and other equipment for patients recovering from a cardiac emergency. This phase of construction saves local patients a trip to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma — 11 miles away — for rehabilitation, which encourages patients to stick with their recovery efforts.
Read more about the improvements at CHI Franciscan St. Francis in the Federal Way Mirror. (Tim Pfarr)
