Evergreen Healthcare recently received approval from the Washington State Department of Health to add 48 new beds to Evergreen Hospital Medical Center. The beds are needed to accommodate Evergreen’s growth and the increased population within the Hospital’s service area. With the addition of these beds, Evergreen’s capacity will increase to 275.

Evergreen submitted the certificate of need for the new beds in 2008. The hospital is projected to reach critical occupancy levels by 2011. Since Evergreen is publicly funded, it is required to meet the needs of the community. Without the additional licensed beds, patients would have been turned away and Evergreen would have been unable to fulfill its mission of providing access to needed healthcare services.

The increase requires no new taxes. The new beds will be set up in patient rooms vacated when the new inpatient tower opened in 2007. Using existing space means the 48 new beds will be available at a cost of less than $1.6 million. The beds will all be funded through patient care revenue.