Medical giant the first tenant of Riverpark complex
Group Health has opened its new Redmond Medical Center at 7765 159th Pl. NE, becoming the first tenant in The Offices at Riverpark.
Located between Redmond Town Center and downtown Redmond, this facility has replaced the 34-year-old Eastside Primary Care Center which closed on Friday.
“Redmond has grown up around Group Health over the past 30 years,” said Jill Ostrem, the Group Health vice president who has overseen Eastside service enhancements. “Moving our medical center to the core of Redmond reinforces our commitment to providing convenient access for our patients and is in keeping with the city leaders’ vision for the community.”
Katie McCarthy, senior media consultant for Group Health added, “The goal here is to have people live and work downtown.”
When completed, the Riverpark complex will also include luxury apartments, a 144-room Sierra Suites hotel, retail shops and restaurants.
Group Health’s Redmond Medical Center incorporates leading-edge health techonology, including electronic medical records, the ability to review digital x-rays simultaneously with specialists in multiple locations, secure e-mail between patients and their health care teams and the ability for patients to order and renew prescriptions online.
Sixteen physicians and staff are providing family medicine, pediatrics ad general internal medicine services in the 31,000-square-foot, two-story medical center. It also houses lab, pharmacy and radiology services.
Mike Foley, media relations manager for Group Health, said streamlined services for patients will be one of the greatest benefits at this new medical center.
“Twenty-three percent of all our primary care interactions are by e-mail or the phone,” he remarked. “That’s a big deal — there’s a lot of medical care not happening in this building. The doctor can pull up your medical records for you to review at home. You can track your labs, people can see their charts. This is especially handy for people with ongoing conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. We pay the costs of the care as well as the insurance. Our incentive is to keep patients healthy.”
Patients at Group Health’s Redmond Medical Care can also book appointments online.
“Innovations in care are really important to us,” said McCarthy. “You’ll be able to send a message and actually get a response within 24 hours. Group Health even has a consulting nurse and emergency medicine physicians who can triage and determine if it’s urgent for you to be seen right away.”
Patient rooms, as Group Health calls its exam rooms, are spacious and equipped with benches rather than a single chair for the patient, since so many bring a spouse or children with them. After reviewing medical records with their provider, they’ll always get a printed “after visit” list of instructions.
The building’s design “contributes to a sense of healing and well-being and makes it easy for doctors and other team members to work together on behalf of their patients,” she noted.
For more information about Group Health, visit www.ghc.org.
