4 • APRIL 2014
HEALTHY VALLEY 2014
INVESTMENT Continued from page 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Blueberry Summer Salad at True Legends Grill in Liberty Lake.
‘I’ll try the salad’
Six healthy orders — without the letdown 1. Blueberry Summer Salad Menu description: Spring salad mix topped with tender diced chicken, feta cheese, dried blueberries, sliced almonds and orange segments, finished with mint leaves and served with a mint huckleberry dressing. (Pictured above.) Price: $12.99 Where: True Legends Grill, 1803 N. Harvard Road, Liberty Lake
4. Ahi Salad Menu description: Togarashi seared tuna, mixed greens, red onions and red peppers, tossed in an Asian dressing with crispy wontons. Price: $14.99 Where: Ambrosia Bistro and Wine Bar, 9211 E. Montgomery Ave., Spokane Valley
5. Oriental Salad
Menu description: Dungeness and coastal crab, Alaskan salmon, chilled cold-water shrimp, egg, fresh tomato, lettuce, pickled red onion, olives, bacon and shaved Parmesan in a tarragon vinaigrette. Price: $16.75 Where: Barlows, 1428 N. Liberty Lake Road, Liberty Lake
Menu description: Spring greens, ripe tomatoes, and crunchy cucumbers which are nestled in with tangy mandarin oranges, ripe avocado and topped with crumbled bleu cheese, bacon, sesame seeds and our own spicy sesame dressing. The perfect marriage of sweet and spicy! Price: $7 Where: Darcy’s Restaurant and Spirits, 10502 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley
3. Yum Talay Salad
6. Seafood Cobb Salad
Menu description: Prawns, scallops, calamari rings and tentacles, catfish, cilantro, mint, lemongrass, onions, fresh ginger adn basil in our own spicy lime dressing. Served on a bed of cabbage. Price: $16.99 Where: Thai Bamboo, 12722 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley
Menu description: Grilled gulf prawns, langoustine and blackened Ahi atop mixed greens, avocado, bacon, chive, Gorgonzola, cucumber, tomato and hardboiled egg with gorgonzola vinaigrette. Price: $16 Where: Hay J’s Bistro, 21706 E. Mission Ave., Liberty Lake
2. Ocean Cobb Salad
Along with their successes, the Valley Hospital faces obstacles in our post-recessionary economy. Weiler cited the Hospital Safety Net bill of 2010 as a crucial factor in decreased Medicaid reimbursement for the Valley specifically, along with an increase in charity and uncompensated care. However, the Valley uses on-sight insurance experts to effectively sign residents up for Medicaid on a daily basis. “Despite these challenges, we’ve continued to invest generously in capital, equipment and upgrades with no reduction in staff compensation or benefits,” Weiler said. The 2008 transaction that saw a formerly nonprofit entity become for-profit had another significant consequence for the community, Weiler noted. “... Combined, Deaconess and Valley are the fourth-largest taxpayer in Spokane County,” she said. “Under previous ownership, the area didn’t benefit from this tax base.” For being the smallest of the four Spokane hospitals —with between 60 and 100 patients daily — the Valley Hospital has been the recipient of a host of accolades since 2008. Healthgrades, an online national medical resource, ranked the Valley Hospital in the top 5 percent of the nation. They were the second hospital in the state of Washington to receive Joint Commission Knee and Hip Replacement Certification and the first hospital in Spokane given praise from The Joint Commission on Key Quality Measures. What makes the Valley different, Weiler said, isn’t just leading physicians, top-of-the-line equipment and high patient satisfaction. “Many patients tell us that they appreciate our smaller size (easier to park and find your way around) and the feeling of family and personalized care they receive at Valley,” she said. As far as continued success and goals for the future, Weiler said that future projects are evaluated by “volume, trends and community need.” CHS just bought the Valley Hospital Medical Office Building, creating two additional operating rooms, relocating doctor’s offices and adding on a therapy unit (see separate story,
page 8). “We’ve worked very hard to enhance quality and expand service lines, recruit specialist physicians and make sure that the residents of Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Veradale, Newman Lake and beyond can get the care they need, right here,” Weiler said. “We are the hospital of the Spokane Valley, and we want the residents of the area to trust us with their care.”
Providence: pursuing a model of localized care The Providence Medical Park opens April 28. The facility will provide increased options and a plethora of jobs for local residents. The 11-acre facility will have two connected buildings: one for doctors’ offices and one for diagnosis and treatment, according to a Providence news release. For the company, it’s about pursuing localized and wellness-focused care. Joseph Robb, Providence’s director of marketing and public relations for Eastern Washington, said the Valley wants a comprehensive care facility, and the Providence Medical Park plans to deliver. “With the anticipation of forming accountable care organizations that take responsibility for cost, quality and patient satisfaction, the focus has shifted to population health rather than caring for people when they are ill,” Robb said. The plan is to create a partnership with local businesses in order to foster a healthy community, not limited to services provided when residents are already sick. Robb said that Group Health, Columbia Medical Associates, Inland Imaging, Cancer Care Northwest and St. Luke Physical Therapy are some of the local healthcare partners that promote a similar goal of quality care. Ambulatory care — those surgeries, diagnostic procedures and treatments that do not require overnight hospitalization — has been an emphasis for expansion within Providence. “The goal of maintaining health has led Providence to move from primarily a hospital system five years ago to having an equally strong ambulatory care base made up of over 300 physicians in Providence Medical Group who are located throughout Spokane and Stevens counties,” Robb said.
The Providence Medical Park will bring large-scale ambulatory services to the Valley. The park was created with three major goals in mind: to provide a variety of same-day services within the same building for the ease of the patient, to reduce the cost of fees usually charged in a hospital setting and to ensure a satisfactory patient experience in that all the services they may need are housed under the same roof. Including the partnership with other Eastern Washington healthcare organizations, the park will house primary care, specialists, urgent care, diagnostic services, procedures and pharmaceutical resources. Specialty services, Robb said, include orthopedics, gastroenterology, neurology, rheumatology and cardiology. “Providence has found that Spokane Valley residents prefer care that is in the Valley,” Robb said. The changing tide of localized healthcare was realized by Providence by gradually increasing their presence in the Valley, starting four years ago. “In August of 2010, Providence Medical Group acquired Valley Family Physicians, a group of four family practice providers,” Robb explained. “This was the first step in more convenient care for Spokane Valley residents. That followed with the acquisition of Spokane Cardiology in 2011, Spokane Valley Family Medicine in 2012 and Valley Young Peoples Clinic in 2014.” Providence, with its bustling hospitals in Spokane, ensures job stability with its acquisitions, Robb said. Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital and Holy Family Hospital are the destinations of choice for many Valley families who require in-patient care. Not only will the medical park cut back on treks to greater Spokane, it will foster job creation for Valley residents. Providence’s presence in the Valley will create more than 200 jobs for residents in time. “Providence Medical Park will eventually employ 178 staff and 38 physicians and 17 advanced practice providers (nurses, physician assistants with advance training/certifications),” Robb said. “On April 28, Providence will employ 57 non-provider, clinical staff.”