Snoqualmie hospital receives license
Published 2:24 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
SNOQUALMIE — The New Year started off with a bang for
the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital, which received word last week from the
state Department of Health that its license had been renewed.
The news was the culmination of a frantic past few months, as
hospital officials and crews worked to complete all the necessary paperwork
and finish remodeling part of the hospital, located on Ethan Wade Way
Southeast.
In November, hospital officials signed a contract with
Snoqualmie Regional Hospital Inc., a non-profit arm of Bainbridge
Island-based Northwest Care Management Inc., to reopen the Snoqualmie facility.
The hospital was forced to close twice in the 1990s, first in 1993 and again
in 1997.
Jeff Lyle, superintendent of King County Public Hospital District 4,
said the Department of Health renewed the license on Thursday, Dec. 28. He
expects Snoqualmie Valley Hospital to open sometime around March 1,
and the district’s board of directors will set a date for public ceremony to
honor the hospital’s reopening.
“Once we fill those [staffing] holes and get everybody oriented …
we’ll have a little community grand opening,” he said, adding, “Once we
have the January board meeting, we’ll fix a date.”
In order to grant the license renewal, Department of Health
officials conducted a site inspection, and they examined paperwork concerning
the services the hospital would provide, including contacts with outside
service providers for such things as food and laundry. The next inspection for
the hospital will take place in 2003.
“Once they saw the documents and saw those signed contracts, they
said, `OK, you’ve met the requirements,'” Lyle said.
With the license renewal, the hospital can now focus on hiring
staff. Lyle said the hospital needs RNs, LPNs and certified nursing
assistants, and he would like to add some facilities staff.
The hospital district superintendent has put in long hours getting
the hospital ready. In two, two-week pay periods, Lyle worked 153 1/2
hours and 165 1/2 hours, respectively. During one stint, he worked 32
days straight, and “I only spent 11 of those 32 nights in my own home,” he said.
“Personally, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off
my shoulders,” he said. “So now comes the hard part of getting the doors
open and having people come and use it.”
Those wishing to apply for a position at the hospital should write
to: Snoqualmie Valley Hospital, attention: Human Resources, P.O. Box
2021, Snoqualmie, WA 98065.
