Looking good at 40

When a dozen Dominican nuns came from Germany to the United States in 1925, their job was to cook and clean for a men’s college. Over the years, they and their successors took on more and more responsibility until they eventually founded a state of the art hospital in north Spokane.

Holy Family not only was the first air-conditioned hospital in the state but was the first completely air-conditioned building of its kind in the area. At the hospital’s grand opening in 1964, traffic was blocked for miles on Division, Francis and Lidgerwood as an estimated 30,000 people poured onto the grounds for a five-day open house. Gov. Albert Rosellini, Mayor Neal Fossen and Bishop Bernard Topel spoke at the dedication ceremony on Aug. 29.

This year, Holy Family Hospital marks its 40th year of providing medical care, not only to Spokane’s North Side, but to those across the region as well.

The past

In 1944, the Dominican sisters purchased the 16-block parcel of land between Division and Lidgerwood, and Rowan and Central, for $13,500. “They knew they needed to be in a larger community. Their motherhouse was in Kettle Falls,” said Barbara Savage, vice president for mission and community relations at Holy Family Hospital.

Over the years, more sisters came from Germany, and between 1944 and 1963, 69 American-born women entered the community. The order eventually grew to more than 120, running hospitals and schools in 12 locations in the Northwest, including St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chewelah, Wash., St. Mary’s in Conrad, Mont., St. Martin’s in Tonasket, Wash., and Mt. Carmel in Colville. The frugal sisters were excellent administrators, business managers, nurses, anesthetists, technicians and medical records clerks.

As Spokane’s growth moved north, many doctors moved their offices to that area. Doctors asked the sisters to build a hospital at the Lidgerwood site. The 138-bed hospital was built by Bouton Construction for $5 million and opened on Sept. 8, 1964, with 325 employees.

Not only was it the state’s first air-conditioned hospital, it also was one of the first to have centralized nurse’s stations, an electronic two-way communication system for patients and nurses, piped-in oxygen in patient’s rooms and closed-circuit TVs.

In 1969 Holy Family was one of only three hospitals in the state to use unit-dose medication, where medicine was prepared in the pharmacy and sealed in a package with the patient’s name and room number on it.

In 1993 with fewer than 40 nuns remaining in the local Dominican order, the decision was made to transfer sponsorship of the hospital to the Sisters of Providence.

According to Savage, all the assets were sold to the Sisters of Providence for $1. When asked why $1, the Dominicans answered, “They were never ours in the first place.”

The Dominicans felt the Sisters of Providence would be able to continue the healing ministry of Jesus. The transfer brought Spokane’s North Side hospital under the same lay management team as Sacred Heart Medical Center.

The present

Cathy Simchuck, vice president for clinical and facility operations, has been at the hospital since 1969, where she began as a candy striper, a teenage girl who does volunteer work at a hospital.

Simchuck said that in the beginning the hospital was a fairly standard community hospital, providing typical services — medical, surgical, emergency — and the majority of the medical staff members were family practice and internal medicine physicians.

“Through the years we have invested in upgrading our services. We have state-of-the-art equipment in areas of imaging, surgical services, and critical care services that equal what is available in the downtown hospitals. Medical staff development currently includes representatives of all specialties,” said Simchuck.

Holy Family Hospital’s Emergency Center in the busiest emergency department in Eastern Washington with an expected 55,000 visits this year.

The 20,000 square foot Emergency Center opened in April 2003. Simchuck said that the emergency center was 2,800 square feet in 1969. The new building was part of a $29 million project and has 28 single-patient rooms, a five-bed hold area, two trauma bays and two cardiac rooms.

Simchuck said the pediatric emergency care staff takes care of 12,000 children annually. Fast-track care is available for less critical patients, so they can get in and out of the emergency center as quickly as possible.

Holy Family Hospital is the only hospital in the city that has in-room dining. “If you want pancakes at 4 p.m. or a milkshake at 9 a.m., within 30 to 40 minutes the food will be delivered to your room,” said Simchuck. Since this food service was added, patient satisfaction scores have gone from 40 to 90 percent.

Speaking of scores, the hospital received a score of 99 out of 100 from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Only 2 percent of hospitals in the country receive a score of 99 or higher. Joint Commission accreditation is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality.

The hospital currently employs 1,100, and 275 physicians have privileges at the hospital.

Board-certified obstetricians and anesthetists are at the hospital round the clock at the Family Maternity Center. New parents receive single-room maternity care.

The only sleep center in Spokane with a board-certified neurologist, internist and pulmonologist is located at Holy Family Hospital. Holy Family also has a bone and joint center, cancer center, speech and hearing center, acute renal dialysis, ambulatory surgery center and a multiple sclerosis center.

The future

According to Simchuck, the next big project is the conversion of semiprivate rooms to private rooms. The plan will take five years and cost $5 million. The hospital is licensed for 272 beds; when the conversion is done, there will be 200 beds. Currently only 10 percent of the rooms are private.

Additional buildings are planned for the future. “A major consideration is to establish a medical office building. Physicians want to be campus-based,” said Simchuck. They are running out of real estate and are purchasing properties near the hospital for future expansion. Simchuck said that the hospital has a member on the Nevada-Lidgerwood Neighborhood Council. It continues to work with the neighbors to address concerns about pedestrian safety and traffic concerns.

According to Savage, future employees will learn that it will be their responsibility to preserve the values established by the Dominican sisters 40 years ago: respect, compassion, collaboration, competence and social justice.