Virginia Mason Franciscan Health plans to open a hybrid Emergency Department /Urgent Care clinic in Port Orchard.

It will be its second hybrid ED/urgent care clinic developed in partnership with Intuitive Health, with the first under construction and set to open in Bremerton in early 2025.

Kitsap County’s population growth is outpacing Washington’s while there remains a shortage of primary care and specialty care providers in the area. The goal of this effort is to improve access and reduce cost of care for residents.

Ketul J. Patel, CEO of VMFH, said, “The hybrid ED/urgent care model is one great example of how we can improve our patient experience, getting patients to the right level of care while also reducing costs, and alleviating some strain on our hospitals.”

When patients come to the hybrid clinic, they will be examined and triaged to the appropriate level of care, removing the burden for patients who may not know where to go. The facility will be staffed with emergency-trained physicians and nurses and fully equipped like a traditional hospital emergency department. Emergency Medical Services can bring patients directly to the hybrid ED/urgent care facility, which will accommodate ambulances onsite.

“By collaborating on innovative, community-based solutions, like the Port Orchard hybrid ED/urgent care clinic, we are able to expand access to care that best fits patient needs, while preserving hospital emergency department capacity for the most serious conditions and injuries,” said Chad Melton, president at St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale.

EDs nationwide continue to be overutilized. That impacts access for those who need emergency services and increases costs. St. Michael is home to one of the busiest EDs in the state with more than 80,000 visits each year.

Construction for the Port Orchard ED/urgent care is anticipated to begin this summer with completion in 2025. It will be open 24/7, equipped with onsite lab equipment and a radiology suite with X-ray and multi-slice CT scanners. Patients can also expect walk-in convenience and shorter wait times compared to a traditional emergency room.

Other examples of VMFH initiatives to expand access to care include:

• CARES (Community Assistance, Referral, and Education Service) Mobile Health Taskforce: St. Michael is supporting the Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue CARES programs by employing a mobile provider team to treat patients in the field, with the goal of reducing the need for non-emergency 911 calls, ED visits and hospital readmissions.

• Behavioral Health Support: VMFH continues to collaborate with Kitsap Mental Health Services and has expanded options for virtual behavioral health services through Concert and Quartet Health.

• Future Workforce Growth: Through an expanded partnership with Olympic College, VMFH is supporting workforce development programs to build a future diverse pipeline of students interested in a healthcare career.

• Primary Care Development: The VMFH Family Medicine Clinic in Bremerton has expanded access to primary care, and its Family Medicine Residency Program trains 24 family medicine residents, with eight graduates, per year.

• Hospital Capacity: St. Michael is building a patient tower that will house 74 additional acute care beds to be completed in fall 2025.