OUR LEGACY CONTINUES… INVESTING IN WOMEN’S & CHILDREN’S CARE AT EVERGREENHEALTH
Before, during and after COVID-19, EvergreenHealth’s commitment to our community endures. Our story, which began nearly 50 years ago with a “little community hospital” in Kirkland, is one of passion, purpose and accountability. We continue to grow, not for growth’s sake, but to respond and adapt to the needs of our community.
In the 1970’s, the need for local healthcare for expecting mothers and growing families birthed what is now EvergreenHealth’s renowned Family Maternity Center, a facility which, along with exceptional wraparound services, supports expecting mothers, newborns and families at all points along the continuum of care. Five decades later, there’s a new need for upgrades and renovations to our community’s premiere childbirth center so that we can ensure our continued legacy of exceptional care and service well into the future.
EvergreenHealth developed a thoughtful and comprehensive plan to 1) enhance and modernize our Family Maternity Center; 2) build out an Obstetrics Emergency Department; 3) expand our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; 4) develop thoughtful and functional non-clinical spaces for patients and their families; and 5) invest in innovative wraparound services to support new parents. Growth and advancement of this magnitude for essential health services requires community support and deserves investment from families who understand how critical it is to have world-class healthcare in your own backyard when you need it most. Join us in investing in the next generation of families in our community – the truest examples of hope, born right here at EvergreenHealth.
ENHANCE AND MODERNIZE EVERGREENHEALTH’S FAMILY MATERNITY CENTER
EvergreenHealth will update and renovate its award-winning childbirth center, breathing new life into the look, feel and design of a facility that been integral to the beginning of thousands of families over the past five decades. In addition to fully modernized, expansive birthing suites, families can be confident that each delivery room will be equipped with upgraded safety features and the latest technology.
Upgrades include the addition of state-of-the-art newborn stabilization and resuscitation equipment to every delivery room. Every moment is precious when a newborn in distress needs immediate help. With limited stabilization and resuscitation equipment currently available, these life-saving tools require transport into a delivery room, rather than being available on-demand. In the renovated space, each birthing suite will be outfitted to meet the emergent health needs of both newborns and laboring mothers, and an expanded footprint will provide adequate space for the multitude of physicians and medical personnel required in an emergency.
Each family, as they welcome their new baby, will be surrounded by the best available equipment, a compassionate care team, and a modern, comfortable environment that inspires confidence and feels like home.
BUILD OUT OBSTETRICS (OB) EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AT EVERGREENHEALTH
At the entrance of EvergreenHealth’s Family Maternity Center will be a newly developed emergency room dedicated to critical needs, observation and care of pregnant women. Complete with multiple exam rooms and a peaceful waiting area for patients and families, a separate and specialized emergency room will create a streamlined process for patients to receive care and immediately access a birthing suite or OB operating room if necessary.
EXPAND EVERGREENHEALTH’S NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
Every year approximately 10% of the 4,000 – 5,000 babies born at EvergreenHealth require specialized, intensive care upon birth. As our community grows, there’s an increased need for additional capacity to serve local families on the Eastside whose newborns need immediate life-saving care. With the current trend, families are often asked to “double up” and share a room with another family, meaning that parents unnecessarily endure the trauma of their own child’s uncertain future, as well as that of the child who shares their room.
EvergreenHealth will expand its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and equip 13 additional rooms with the capabilities to care for babies born premature or with complications, while also upgrading current equipment and technology in existing NICU rooms. Additional capacity in the NICU will ensure families receive care in a single-occupancy room with the privacy to converse and make decisions with their care team and the solitude to focus on their own mental and emotional well-being, along with the health and growth of their newborn.
“I remember writing a list of all of the people I interacted with [at EvergreenHealth] on a daily basis, those that made a difference in my life, because I wanted to make sure I could talk to our daughter about this and say: these are the people that helped you though this experience.” Born with severe respiratory issues and weighing just 2 lbs. 1 oz., Madelyn required several procedures, including chest tubes, and would be cared for in the EvergreenHealth Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for months. Her parents shared how their EvergreenHealth nurses and physicians were there for them every step of way, giving them hope when they needed it most. It’s a lifelong bond that they now share with those who cared for their little girl.
Madelyn is now two years old and full of joy and laughter. “I wouldn’t have changed any of it…she’s perfect.”
DEVELOP THOUGHTFUL AND FUNCTIONAL NON-CLINICAL SPACES
In a clinical environment where waiting for updates can be a lengthy and oftentimes overwhelming process, it’s critical to provide non-clinical spaces for family and loved ones to rest and recharge. In the renovated Family Maternity Center, several large family lounges will be constructed to provide a comfortable and calming space for families to await news.
In the expanded NICU, a new family lounge will provide a similar space for families looking for respite from their child’s procedures and treatments, as well as the traumatic alarms and noises associated with an intensive care setting. In addition to this lounge area, a new quiet space will be constructed and thoughtfully dedicated for families experiencing the loss of their newborn and who deserve a nonclinical space to spend these quiet, precious moments with their baby and family. In other times, this space will be available for parents experiencing the trauma of their child’s fragile health to take a mental health break so that they can continue to be resilient for their family.
INVEST IN INNOVATIVE WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO SUPPORT NEW PARENTS
EvergreenHealth continues to be well-known for the multitude of wraparound services available for new parents: support for postpartum distress, home-like antepartum unit, perinatal mood disorder care, breastfeeding center and support, 24 hour dedicated nurse line, and countless classes, support groups and virtual resources. EvergreenHealth will continue to invest in innovative, world-class services that provide unparalleled support, and that, unlike other hospitals, are easily accessible at the same location or through virtual platforms. As part of the renovation and construction, additional classrooms, conference rooms and meeting spaces will be provided to ensure that there’s ample opportunity for collaboration and building community.
Would you like to be part of supporting EvergreenHealth’s community investment in maternity and newborn care? Contact EvergreenHealth Foundation at 425-899-1900 or foundation@evergreenhealth.com to learn more.