Community Resources Update

December 8, 2020

Emergency Services department

What you need to know

• Beginning on December 12, St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale will provide emergency, trauma, and surgical care as a Level III Trauma Center.
• Following the move, a reduced number of emergency department beds will remain at the Bremerton campus, until Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s urgent care center opens in 2021. Patients who go to Bremerton after December 12 may be transferred to Silverdale because it will have the staff and equipment necessary to handle higher-level emergencies ranging from surgeries to heart attacks.
• Patients in need of labor and delivery or OB-GYN services should seek care at the St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale, where the St. Michael Medical Center Family Birth Center is located.
• The new Silverdale Emergency Services department is nearly 70 percent larger with improved trauma bays, enhanced triage capabilities, nuclear decontamination rooms, high-resolution imaging technology, and negative air pressure systems that help reduce the spread of infectious diseases.

Built for better care: New St. Michael Medical Center Emergency Services department welcomes patients on December 12, 2020

On December 12, St. Michael Medical Center’s Level III Trauma Care will move from Bremerton to its newly expanded Silverdale hospital, offering advanced emergency and trauma care for Kitsap county residents.

After the December 12 move, Bremerton’s Emergency Services department will have board-certified physicians available to care for patients 24/7, with imaging and lab capabilities. However, the new Silverdale hospital will provide a higher level of care including trauma care, cardiac services, stroke care, surgical care, and inpatient services.

“We look forward to providing exceptional care from day one in our new Silverdale Emergency Services department. The space is nearly 70 percent larger than our existing Bremerton Emergency Services department, which allows for greater physical distancing and enhances the safety, privacy, and comfort of the patients we serve,” said David Weiss, MD, vice president of medical operations at St. Michael Medical Center.

Along with a significant increase in size, the Silverdale Emergency Services department features improvements to many aspects of patient care, including high-resolution CT and MRI technology that produce more comprehensive images in less time, noted Bill Morris, MD, St. Michael Medical Center Emergency Services department medical director.

“The new Silverdale Emergency Services department has improved trauma bays, improved nuclear decontamination rooms, improved treatment rooms, and an improved triage area for the treatment of less-acute conditions like ankle sprains, minor cuts, and earaches,” said Dr. Morris.

The new facility and equipment upgrades are not the only improvements patients may notice. With its integrated, intuitive design, the new Silverdale hospital enables communication and process improvements for hospital staff and providers. This aligns with St. Michael Medical Center’s ongoing efforts to improve access to high quality healthcare for Kitsap residents, said Dr. Morris. “With this move comes an opportunity to improve our culture as a hospital and through that, deliver a better patient experience.”