Some 550 students from Normandy Park’s Marvista Elementary School recently donated $700 to Highline Medical Center’s new Emergency Room and Patient Care Unit, along with $300 to the Union Gospel Mission.

Now that may not seem like much of a big deal, until you realize that it was all collected through a penny drive that began back in September – that’s right, these kids collected thirty 25-pound bags of pennies from fellow students, neighbors, friends and families.

This was done by the “Totally Awesome Penny People” (T.A.P.P.) which involved kids from throughout the entire school. Pennies were collected, then students decided which worthy causes should receive the donation. A group of 5th and 6th grade students narrowed down the decision and made the final choices, then on May 17th at an all-school assembly, students presented a $300 check to Union Gospel Mission and a $700 check to Highline Medical Center.

Accepting the $700 check was HMC CEO Mark Benedum, whose own sons are Marvista Elementary School alumni, and ER physician Dr. Kimberly Yeargin.

In thanking the children for their tremendous effort, CEO Benedum said:

“We treat approximately 50,000 people in our ER each year, and even if each one of them donated a penny, that still would be less than the total number of pennies collected by all of you. Congratulations!”

by Ralph Nichols

A few years ago, when I worked as a volunteer in the Emergency Department at Highline Medical Center, the waiting area usually was filled with patients and family members well into the evening.

Patients waited, as they still do, for their turn to be screened in a single triage room, then waited longer for a treatment room to become available. That’s not surprising since the crowded Highline Emergency Department, designed to handle 12,000 patients a year 50 years ago, now provides care for nearly 50,000 patients annually.

But all this will change soon. Construction of a new state-of-the-art Emergency Department that will triple the size of the current facility is nearing completion – on time and on budget. When its doors open to patients on April 13, waiting times for triage and treatment will decrease dramatically.

The new patient-friendly facility also will improve exponentially the convenience and efficiency of the working environment for physicians, nurses, radiology and lab technicians, and everyone else who contributes to the care of Highline’s emergency patients.

B-Town Blog photographer Michael Brunk and I joined a tour of the new Emergency Department on Jan. 19 – shortly after the end of major construction activity as the finishing process got underway. No equipment or furnishings had yet been installed.

Even at this incomplete stage, however, one thing was immediately apparent – the new Emergency Department is a magnificently awesome improvement over the current emergency facility.

Highline Medical Center CEO Mark Benedum described it well: “a facility that’s up to the care the staff’s been providing.”

Benedum said planning for the new Emergency Department began in 2005, with the start of construction on the $60 million project (which includes a new 31 bed Patient Care Unit) getting underway in 2008.

Highline Medical Center’s  service area extends from West Seattle to Federal Way and from Tukwila to Vashon Island, and most of its emergency patients come from this region – as well as persons driving along Interstate 5 and both passengers and employees at Sea-Tac International Airport.

Combine the size of this service area with its population growth in the last two decades and it’s easy to see why the aging emergency facility is overcrowded, noted Renée Klein, Executive Director of the Highline Medical Center Foundation.

The differences between the current facility and the new Emergency Department are strikingly apparent the moment one walks into its main entrance, which is on the west side of the medical center not far from the current emergency entrance.

The interior is bright and airy, with large windows that provide ample natural light, as well as spacious – 27,000 square feet compared with the current 9,000 square feet. In fact, the main nurses station area, well inside the Emergency Department, looks as if it could hold the entire existing facility.

Just beyond the reception desk are three private triage rooms, which will speed evaluation of patients, reducing their time in the general waiting area. Patients then will be taken to any of the 32 large, private treatment rooms, where admitting can be done at bedside.

Every room is universally equipped – “hardwired” – to handle any emergency. Two of the rooms are dedicated for pediatric care. The current facility has 19 beds, only eight of which are hardwired.

The ambulance entrance – with an ambulance bay that can accommodate about a dozen emergency vehicles including police cars – is on the north side of the Emergency Department. Two trauma bays for serious emergencies such as heart attacks are immediately inside. Each is designed to handle two patients if necessary.

Two diagnostic imaging rooms – one x-ray, the other CT, both dedicated for emergency patients – and a separate diagnostic imaging waiting room are located just beyond the triage rooms.

In addition, there are two seclusion rooms for psychiatric and other patients who require additional security, an isolation room for highly contagious patients, a decontamination room with an outside entrance for disasters and contact with hazardous materials, a separate area for first responders – emergency medical and law enforcement personnel – to write their reports, and a private family consultation room.

Designed byNAC Architecture, the Emergency Department was planned “from the physicians’ and nurses’ point of view” to provide “rapid treatment,” Klein said. The general contractor is GLY Construction .

One floor above the new Emergency Department is a 31-bed Patient Care Unit for medical and cancer patients. (Look for a report on this unit on the B-Town Blog soon.) Beneath it is a parking garage for those going to the Emergency Department.

The grand opening of the Emergency Department is set for April 9-10, and will include an open house for the public.

Klein noted that while most of the cost of the new facility was paid through bonds and capital reserves, only $5.4 million of a $10 million capital campaign has come in or been pledged. “I’m optimistic that the community will help us with that last amount,” she said.

Highline Medical Center receives no tax dollars for capital expenses and general operations, and relies largely on grants and pledges. If you would like to learn more about how to support Highline’s Campaign for a New ER, log on to www.LifeDependsOnIt.org or call the Foundation office at 206.901.8500.

Here’s Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow of the facility:

Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

Burien’s Highline Medical Center is aiming to provide 1,000 mammograms to women in our community during October, which is “Beast Cancer Awareness Month,” and is offering free “booby prizes” (NOTE: this is our nickname, not theirs) as incentive.

As part of their “October 1,000” campaign, the first 1,000 women who receive mammograms at Highline Diagnostics at SW 160th during October will receive an eco bag filled with items to pamper herself. In addition, 75 random bags will contain Dr. Oz’s book “YOU: Staying Young. The Owner’s Manual to Extending Your Warranty.”

They will also be treating mammogram patients to complimentary mini-spa and mini-massage sessions. As an extra incentive, every woman will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win fun prizes including spa packages, gym memberships, salon visits and personal training sessions.

HMC adds:

“We understand women are busy and want to make scheduling a mammogram appointment as easy and convenient as possible. To accommodate their busy schedule, we have extended our hours to include evenings until 7pm and Saturday until 4pm for the month of October and added an online appointment request to schedule a screening mammogram.

Please call Highline Diagnostics at 160th at (206) 248-8900, Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 6:00pm or log onto www.HighlineMedicalCenter.org to schedule your appointment.”

The upcoming Annual Golf Classic presented by McKay Wealth Management, benefiting Highline Medical Center, will take place at Washington National Golf Course in Auburn on Wednesday, July 15th.

This annual fundraiser is a wonderful way to enjoy a day of golf while supporting Highline Medical Center.

To register, or for more information, click here.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Annual Golf Classic benefiting Highline Medical Center

WHEN: Wednesday, July 15th

WHERE: Washington National Golf Course in Auburn, WA

INFO: Join us for 18 challenging holes including several contests, followed by a sumptuous buffet dinner, prizes, and even a small silent auction!

TICKETS: For ticket or sponsorship information, email events@highlinemedical.org or call 206-901-8500.

REGISTER: $250 for Individual or $1,000 for a Foursome. Registration includes 18-holes of golf, buffet lunch and dinner, and tee prize.

Print the Registration Form here (PDF) or contact 206-901-8500 or email events@highlinemedical.org to register.

According to the King County Sheriff’s Department, an 18 year-old man was shot in SeaTac last night around 11:30pm, and subsequently died at Burien’s Highline Medical Center.

The victim was riding in the back seat of a car that was southbound on Military Road South. Four friends were with him in the car. A second vehicle began following the victim’s car but turned off at South 140th; as it did, several rounds were fired and the male victim was hit.

The men drove straight to Highline Medical Center and the man collapsed in the entrance to the Emergency Room. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

The dead man is believed to be from California and was in the area visiting relatives.

All the people in the victim’s car were male and in their late teens or early 20s.

There is no description of the suspect vehicle, and no apparent motive for the shooting.

On Tuesday, Burien’s Highline Medical Center laid off 85 management and staff positions.

CEO Mark Benedum said, “Today is an incredibly difficult and painful day for us. In order to assure our financial stability, we had to reduce 85 management and staff positions at both campuses through a lay-off. In many cases, these are individuals who have given years of service and significant contributions to our organization. This was not an easy decision and it was something I had hoped we would not have to do.”

Like most hospitals both locally and nationally, Highline Medical Center has been hit hard by the declining economy. Highline’s net revenue has been negatively impacted by both a decrease in outpatient volumes and an increase in uncompensated care. These factors led to significant financial losses in December and January and a projected loss in February.

Benedum continued, “We have taken actions to respond to the decline in the economy. While we initially believed that these measures would allow us to manage the economic fall-out, it was not enough. We cannot continue to spend more than we are earning. Continued losses of this magnitude are not an option. We have a responsibility to our patients and the community to reduce our costs and remain financially viable.”

The vast majority of positions that were eliminated were not involved in direct patient care.

Highline Medical Center first opened in 1958 as Burien General Hospital. It now includes two healthcare campuses and more than 20 clinics across Southwest King County. As the tenth-busiest emergency department in the Puget Sound region, Highline serves as the base station for the Burien area emergency medical unit. In 2008, Highline broke ground on a new ER & Patient Care unit, which is slated to open in early 2010.

More information is available at their website: www.highlinemedicalcenter.org.

Authorities said the incident started at about 3:45 p.m. when a man, who was known by the staff, walked into the emergency room and claimed to have a bomb in his car.

Shortly thereafter, the entire hospital was locked down, as well as surrounding streets.

Bomb technicians determined that the device was not explosive, subsequently ending the lockdown around 6:30pm and re-opening streets.

The man who made the threat was detained.