In 1970, what is now the oldest part of Whidbey General Hospital opened. Over the years, patient rooms seem to have become smaller and less private as technology has advanced.
Hospital officials hope to improve conditions for patients with a new wing if voters eventually sign off on a bond to fund the project.
Whidbey General Hospital CEO Scott Rhine said the upgrade is needed to keep up with technology and to meet federal privacy guidelines.
“We’re not able to accomplish everything we desire for patients,” Rhine said.
To pay for the expansion, the hospital is looking to ask the voters to approve a bond, probably sometime in the next year. Early estimates indicate the bond could total $54 million. It would require a 60 percent majority to pass.
Officials haven’t yet decided on a date for such a bond. Rhine said the hospital board wants to work with the community to develop the project and keep the tax rate low.
New expansion plans come eight years after voters approved a $5.3 million bond. Rhine said that bond focused on outpatient services while the new bond will focus on inpatient services. He added the bonds voters approved in 2000 will be paid off in 2011.
The proposed hospital expansion comes at a time when a new clinic is being built near Bayview on South Whidbey. The project will be funded by bonds that will be paid back by the revenue the clinic produces.
Rhine said the clinic project is small enough to pay bonds back using the hospital’s revenue. However, the new wing is a much larger project and the hospital will need taxpayer support to fund construction.
Rhine said the old double rooms are small and not designed for modern equipment. The size of the rooms also makes it difficult to maneuver and use equipment in the rooms.
Officials are concerned that the rooms provide a safety risk for both staff and patients.
“This will give us 40 patient rooms that provide privacy, technology and space for patients in a modern-day hospital,” Rhine said. The rooms will have single beds which is becoming more of an industry standard.
He said the new building will be safer and provide better quality of care and better protection against contagious diseases.
Once the hospital builds the new wing it will be licensed for fewer beds. Whidbey General is limited to 26 overnight beds since it receives special funding for serving a rural area. The current patient wing will be used as outpatient services, for which the demand has been increasing in recent years.
Rhine said that many of the hospitals in the region were built in the 1960s and 1970s and need upgrades. Hospitals in Skagit and Snohomish counties are undertaking large renovation projects.
