Vol. 23 No. 3
March 2015 Some security companies won’t work with the marijuana industry [Page 6]
The Buzz Health care section Cover story: PeaceHealth connects patients with primary care. CONTINUED ON 18 Adult Day Health program changes hands, prepares for move to Lynden. ADULT DAY HEALTH, 21 Fitness equipment goes high-tech. An “anti-gravity” treadmill and an energy producing elliptical machine come to Bellingham. FITNESS, 18
Where’s the snow? Milano’s Restaurant in Glacier closed and a lack of snow at the Mount Baker Ski Area is straining other businesses in the foothills. MOUNT BAKER, 24 Kathleen Hall, registered nurse, cares for a patient during a demonstration in the emergency department at PeaceHealth St. Jospeh Medical Center.
Business toolkit
OLIVER LAZENBY PHOTO | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL
Prepare for trade show season
PeaceHealth handles a 10 percent patient increase
TOOLKIT, 25
BY OLIVER LAZENBY The Bellingham Business Journal Since the first open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act, the waiting room at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center is a little more crowded and more equipment lines the hallways in the emergency department. The hospital, Whatcom County’s largest private employer and only
inpatient hospital, is handling 10 percent more patients than it was two years ago. The number of people the emergency department staff treats each day grew from about 155 to 180 in the last year and a half, said Margie Campbell, emergency department manager. To deal with the surge, PeaceHealth is teaching patients how to use health care more effectively. Whatcom County had a lot of
success in getting people signed up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act. The percentage of people without health insurance in Whatcom County went from 14.3 percent in 2013 to 4 percent by April 2014. That’s 20,909 Whatcom County residents who are newly insured. Whatcom Alliance for
Healthcare Advancement (WAHA), a nonprofit, was one organization chosen by the state to help enroll people in Apple
PeaceHealth, PAGE 18
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