The Washington State Department of Health on Nov. 29 issued a certificate of need to Tacoma, Wash.-based CHI Franciscan Health, which clears the way for the health system to expand St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, Wash.
CHI Franciscan Health initiated the CON request in June 2016.
The planned 25,000-square-foot, $15.6 million expansion across the fifth floor of St. Anthony will increase the hospital's capacity by 40 percent. The expansion will accommodate an additional 32 beds for a total of 112 patient beds.
St. Anthony has experienced steady growth in hospital admissions since it opened in 2009. The expansion is designed to provide relief for the hospital's continuously high occupancy rate, increase patient satisfaction and reduce patient emergency room wait time. The additional capacity will also reduce patient transfers to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma during times when St. Anthony Hospital's beds are full.
CHI Franciscan expects to start caring for patients on the fifth floor of St. Anthony in early 2018.