Test for Prop 1 Page

A public hospital district is created and owned by a community and its residents, and authorized by the state to provide health care services to the community it serves. It is similar to a school district or fire district.

King County Public Hospital District No. 2, known as EvergreenHealth, was formed by Eastside residents in 1972 and is one of almost 60 public hospital districts in Washington State.

As a public hospital district, EvergreenHealth is governed by a publicly-elected board of commissioners. This is different from private hospitals, which are led by internally-appointed boards of directors. EvergreenHealth’s publically-elected board has ultimate responsibility and accountability for the hospital district and the quality of its medical care on behalf of the district's residents. The board approves all major financial decisions along with many other responsibilities as provided by law.

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How does the community benefit from a public hospital district model, rather than a for-profit hospital model?
Because the sole mission of a public hospital district is to serve its community, it’s able to respond to the community’s own unique demands and challenges to provide the best possible care for patients and families.

Public hospital districts also empower its community to address any health care access insufficiencies.

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How are public hospital districts funded?
The majority of financial support for public hospital districts come from public (Medicare and Medicaid) and private (commercial) insurance—the same as private hospitals. Typically, only two to three percent of total funding comes from property tax revenue, paid by district homeowners.

From the 2018 EvergreenHealth annual report, the graphic below demonstrates the financial composition of EvergreenHealth, noting that .2 percent of revenue is from taxpayer support.

Why is EvergreenHealth seeking to pass Proposition 1?
Since opening our doors in 1972, EvergreenHealth has been proud to provide our community with first-class health care. We’ve grown in both size and services to meet the area’s every-growing population.

On occasion, we’ve come to the community to ask for your support to help with that growth. Thanks to that support, we were able to open a hospice center and hospice homecare program in 1991 as well as an expanded emergency department and an eight story inpatient tower in 2007.

With Proposition 1, also known as EverHealthy, we are seeking your help to support new projects we feel are vital to the ongoing health of the community.

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What is EverHealthy?
EvergreenHealth’s 10-year facility improvement plan was created in 2015. The successful first phase—made possible in part by community support—was completed in 2017 on time and on budget. It created:

• A new 31-bed Progressive Care Unit on 5-Silver
• A new 31-bed Medical Surgical Unit on 4-Silver
• The Neuroscience, Spine & Orthopedic Institute in the DeYoung Pavilion
• A new primary and urgent care facility in Kenmore
• A new primary and urgent care facility in Mill Creek

This second phase, known as EverHealthy, will address the need for a new critical care unit, an updated family maternity center, technology upgrades and seismic updates to the original hospital buildings on the EvergreenHealth Kirkland campus.

This will ensure that EvergreenHealth can continue to meet the health care needs of the community for generations to come.

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How was the EverHealthy plan created?
EvergreenHealth and its publicly-elected board of commissioners utilized strategic insight, trend analytics and third-party projection data to help us understand and anticipate the growing needs of our community.

The impetus for this plan includes:

• Community growth. Our community has grown significantly in recent years, and shows no signs of stopping. It’s estimated we’ll see 71,000 new residents by 2022.
• EvergreenHealth preference. More people are choosing EvergreenHealth as their first choice for health care, meaning we need more space to care for increasing patient volumes.
• Aging infrastructure. Addressing aging facilities in need of improvements means we can continue to deliver the safest care in the safest environment for our community.

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What specific projects within the EverHealthy plan will Proposition 1 support?

• Critical Care Unit: a new critical care unit would be built on the undeveloped third floor of the silver tower. The larger patient rooms would support new lifesaving technologies and provide the best possible experience for patients and their families.
• Family Maternity Center: the popularity of our childbirth unit means it is frequently at capacity. This refresh and expansion will enable us to continue welcoming new babies in a warm environment with the latest technology to ensure their safety.
• Disaster Readiness: core areas of the original hospital buildings and parking structures would see seismic retrofitting to help withstand a major earthquake. This will help us continue to provide care during a disaster.
• Technology and Facility Upgrades: our facilities need updating so they can adapt to new technology and expand to meet the increased need for services from our growing community.

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Who will benefit from EverHealthy?
All of us. We will address safety, service and quality needs and strengthen, literally and figuratively, areas that serve patients during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

Additionally, improvements will be made to clinical areas of Kirkland campus including the maternity center, critical care unit, and the oldest parts of the hospital – all to the benefit of our patients and families in these areas, as well as the staff and providers who care for them now and years into the future.

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