New Evergreen Medical Center Opens Monday

Redmond's new Evergreen Medical Center will open its doors to patients on Monday, as an 11-month construction project comes to a close.

Members of the public are invited to tour the new facility during a community open house, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The medical center is located in the Bella Bottega shopping center at 8980 161st Ave. NE.

The new facility features 49,474 square feet of space and 50 exam rooms for primary, urgent and emergency medical care. Approximately 30 physicians will rotate between the Redmond medical center and Evergreen's other facilities, and at least one doctor and three nurses will be present at the Redmond location at all times, said Dr. Kevin Hanson, medical director of Evergreen's emergency department.

"Our goal is to have no wait," Hanson said.

The emergency department will be open 24 hours, seven days a week, while the urgent care department will hold hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The primary care division will hold more traditional hours.

Evergreen Commissioner Rebecca Hirt said the $18.9-million facility represents Evergreen's commitment to serving patients closer to home.

"With the traffic, sometimes it's so hard to get where you need to go," Hirt said. "It's a beautiful facility, and of course we're here to serve Redmond."

During a preview event on Thursday, Redmond Mayor John Marchione thanked Evergreen for its ongoing dedication to the Eastside community. The main campus of Evergreen Hospital Medical Center, located in Kirkland, has served Redmond residents since it first opened in 1972, Marchione said.

"Redmond has grown a lot in the last 39 years, and Evergreen has been a large part of it," he said. "As Redmond continues to grow, Evergreen is behind it all the way."

The layout of the new building includes several features that are intended to make the patient's experience more comfortable. Many exam rooms have private sitting areas where families can wait for patients right outside their door. A corridor on the emergency care floor houses a children's play area that will be stocked with toys, kid-friendly furniture and education materials.

Physician assistant Marty Kjos said one of her favorite features in the new building is the rotating electronic medical station that enables medical personnel to flip their computer screens around to show to patients.

"This will be nice so we can turn things around and talk to people," Kjos said.