Hospital Expansion: St. Anthony's Gets State OK To Add Beds

GIG HARBOR, WA - The state has notified St. Anthony's Hospital that it will allow the hospital to embark on a $15.6 million expansion that will add 32 acute care beds.

The expansion would bring the total number of acute care beds at St. Anthony's to 112. The parent of the hospital, Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan, announced ts intention to expand the hospital in January. The company said at the time that the expansion could be complete by the end of 2017.

CHI Franciscan said that St. Anthony's has seen such steady growth since 2009 that patients have had to wait in the emergency room to get a bed. The hospital wants to meet demand generated by an expected 3 percent growth in the Gig Harbor-area population.

As part of the approval, the state is requiring St. Anthony's to provide a certain level of charity care - 1.87 percent of gross revenue and 4.70 percent of adjusted revenue.

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