St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, opening in March, will provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient medical services as well as boost the local economy through the creation of up to 450 jobs.

In many respects, the new hospital is an example of planning and technology at which other health care organizations will look back at years from now and ask, “How did you do that?”

Surgery suites at St. Anthony Hospital will feature the SkyVision Communications Control System.

Nowhere is this truer than in the areas of information and biomedical technology. Consider just the cabling required to power the Franciscan Health System’s new $160 million facility: It has taken one year to install more than 290 miles of copper cables and fiber optic lines to support all the low-voltage systems throughout the new hospital.

 “St. Anthony Hospital will be distinguished by its high-quality patient care and state-of-the-art technology,” says Carole Peet, the hospital’s chief operating officer. “An intricate combination of systems will power sophisticated technology, such as our operating rooms of the future, closed-circuit television and wireless bedside computer workstations.”

The cardiac catheterization and vascular lab, located on the hospital’s second floor next to the operating rooms and interventional radiology lab, will feature the most advanced medical technology for diagnosing and treating cardiovascular conditions.

“St. Anthony is well-positioned to provide life-saving cardiac care to residents of the Gig Harbor-Peninsula area,” says Wendy Lind, a registered nurse who will manage the cardiac cath and interventional radiology units within the Brett Erickson Cardiovascular Suite. “With 24-hour emergency care, a cardiac catheterization and vascular lab, and inpatient care, our staff will be ready to help patients from the moment they arrive all the way through their recovery.”

The St. Anthony program is also affiliated with the St. Joseph Heart & Vascular Center in nearby Tacoma, where the region’s most skilled cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons are on the medical staff.

Here’s a sampling of other sophisticated medical technologies that will help physicians, nurses and other health care professionals at St. Anthony Hospital deliver world-class care, close to home:

·        A picture archiving computer system (PACS) will provide a digital storage and management system needed to accommodate thousands of digital images from radiology and cardiology, as well as portable ultrasound devices. This package of products provides a secure, one-stop source of patient images that can be accessed electronically by physicians and other members of the care team.

·        Nurses will use wireless mobile workstations at patients’ bedsides. This technology provides them with immediate access to patient-care records and treatment plans that will help ensure delivery of the highest-quality care.

·        Also, nurses will communicate with each other via their high-tech wireless badges no matter where they are in the hospital. The Vocera system ensures immediate person-to-person contact between caregivers and creates a quieter environment for patients.

·        Surgical suites at St. Anthony Hospital will feature audio-visual capabilities through the SkyVision Communications Control System. Internet interfaces and multiuser, long-range video conferencing will make the surgical suites showplaces of advanced communications technology.

·        Doctors and nurses will use both wired and wireless technology for real-time, 24-hour monitoring of the health and progress of hospitalized patients, ensuring quality care around the clock.

St. Anthony Hospital is located at 11567 Canterwood Blvd. N.W. in north Gig Harbor. The new hospital, licensed for 80 beds, will serve residents of Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula, South Kitsap and North Mason counties. The hospital is currently recruiting registered nurses and other health care professionals as it prepares to begin providing patient care in March. In November, about 120 nurses attended a St. Anthony-sponsored Nurse Career Fair to discuss employment opportunities at the new hospital.

“Positions are being filled quickly, so it’s important that individuals who want to talk with us contact us now,” says Debra Larive, human resources manager at St. Anthony. “The door is open for rewarding, meaningful careers at our organization.”

Check out the career opportunities at St. Anthony and Franciscan Health System here.

Nurses interested in joining the St. Anthony team may also directly contact recruiters Amy Locke at (253) 985-2781 or by email at amylocke@FHShealth.org, or Erin Davis at (253) 857-1433 or via email at erindavis@FHShealth.org.