Franciscan Patient Placement Center

Introducing the Franciscan Patient Placement Center.
A better way to find inpatient care for your patient.
      253-396-FPPC    (253-396-3772)
      1-855-396-3772 (toll free)

Open 24/7 including holidays.

No more calling around to individual hospitals! One central phone number admits your patient to any of our five Franciscan Health System hospitals. If no Franciscan beds are available, we will locate a bed at another hospital in the community for your patient.

Benefits of Using the Franciscan Patient Placement Center

Streamlined patient placement and communications ensures your patient gets a bed at the right Franciscan hospital with the right level of care. He or she will be seen by a Franciscan Inpatient Team (FIT) provider or appropriate specialist.

Staffed around the clock by highly skilled, registered nurses trained in patient placement.

The FPPC service is available for direct admissions and patient transfers into:
      St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma
      St. Francis Hospital, Federal Way
      St. Clare Hospital, Lakewood
      St. Anthony Hospital, Gig Harbor
      Enumclaw Regional Hospital (St. Elizabeth Hospital opens February 2), Enumclaw

We help coordinate the admission and/or transfer of your patients including:

• Direct admits from your office
• Transfers between our Franciscan hospitals
• Transfers from Franciscan to non-Franciscan hospitals
• Transfers from a non-Franciscan hospital to a Franciscan hospital

The FPPC will not coordinate admission or transfer for some circumstances. Please continue to use existing contact protocols for the following:

• Code Neuro
• Code STEMI
• Trauma
• Pediatric
• Mental Health
• Obstetrics and/or imminent births
• Neonatal patients

How to Access the Service/Admit Your Patient

Step 1: Before calling, please have ready:

• The best way to reach you
• Patient’s full name, date of birth, and SSN if possible
• Diagnosis and/or chief complaint
• Pertinent medical history
• Recommendations and concerns

Step 2: Call 253-396-3772 and an FPPC nurse will perform the initial intake.

Step 3: We will arrange and document your handoff communications with an accepting physician.

Step 4: We assign a hospital and a bed for your patient.

Step 5: We ensure that your patient arrives with initial orders.

Download a PDF FPPC service information flyer for your staff.

For more detailed information about the service process, please see the FPPC Flow Chart.

Meet Our Patient Placement RN Team

All members of the patient placement team are highly experienced registered nurses trained in patient placement.

Left to right: Tammy Nicholas and Carol Fagerness, coordinators; Mary Ragsdale, director of patient care systems; Patti Harris, Donna Benjamin, Theresa Bush and Mary Beth Peterson, coordinators

Our goal is three-fold: to make it easier for you and your staff to locate an inpatient bed for your patient, to improve handoff communications, and to improve the patient experience by providing as stress-free a transition to the hospital setting as possible.

Use the new Franciscan Patient Placement Center service and tell us what you think.

The first time you access the new service, you will receive a faxed FPPC Physician Satisfaction Survey. We also welcome your comments at any time. Contact Mary Ragsdale, director of patient care systems, at MaryRagsdale@fhshealth.org or 253-426-4338.