A trip to the Swedish Ballard emergency room will soon be a whole new experience.
The main entrance of the new Swedish Ballard facility
The new facility at 5350 Tallman Ave NW is set to open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, November 9th. But before the doors open to patients, the public has the opportunity to tour the building.
One of the patient rooms in the ER. Six of the 18 rooms have doors to the waiting area.
The first floor is the new emergency department (ED) where the rooms and procedures are set up to get patients in and out quickly. “We’ve changed the process dramatically,” Dr. Ray Jarris, the medical director of the ED tells us. There is no waiting in a traditional waiting room. When you walk through the door of the ER, you’ll be taken to one of the 18 private rooms “You come into the emergency department, you get brought to a room and we’re going to swarm. We’re going to bring the medical provider, a doc or physician’s assistant, a nurse or two and a tech into the room and start multiple processes at the same time.”
The waiting area of the emergency department. The art on the walls throughout the facility is hand selected and includes some Ballard artists.
The state average time in the ER is 250 minutes. According to Dr. Jarris , Swedish Ballard averaged 120 minutes last month. Their goal, according to Jarris, is to get children moved through in an average of 90 minutes.
The emergency department is equipped with its own radiology machine and portable radiology machine. There is also a decontamination room in the event that someone is exposed to hazardous material. The ambulance entry is along the side of the building and patients brought in by ambulance will be brought in through their own entrance.
One of the imaging machines in the radiology department.
The second floor of the building is the radiology department. The advanced Imaging Center consolidates the imaging services to one location. It features an MRI, a 16-slice CT, high resolution ultrasound as well as radiographic imaging. Screening and diagnostic mammography as well as bone density scanning are in the recently renovated area of the medical center.
The waiting area for Swedish Physicians Ballard
The third floor is the new Swedish Physicians Ballard with 24 rooms. The clinic is set up in four sections, A, B, C and D, which are all color-coded. Swedish Physicians Ballard currently has ten doctors but is bringing on one more. The new offices will open on Monday, November 15th.
The community garden on Market Street. Photo courtesy Swedish.
The public open house will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Organizers have several activities planned including a tour of the Emergency Department and medical office, “Ask the Doctor” and a teddy bear clinic for kids to have their stuffed animals and dolls checked out.
The Baby Bite of Ballard will take over the unfinished fifth floor. Ballard Brothers Seafood and Burgers, Great Harvest Bread, India Bistro, Plaka Estiatorio, Ray’s Boathouse, Scandinavian Specialties, The Hi-Life, The Counter and Thai Siam will all be handing out bite-sized samples. From 1:45 to 2:30 p.m., Caspar Babypants will be performing on the fifth floor.(Disclosure: Swedish Ballard is a sponsor of MyBallard.)
ooh boy that 1st pic is so “modern-ugly as heck”
ooh boy that 1st pic is so “modern-ugly as heck”
Good, but the new building eliminated all the drive-up handicap access spots for the medical office building whose Barnes Street entrance reads “1801 Market Street.” The actual building entrance on Market Street has no parking spot and patients waiting for a ride cannot see the vehicle, nor can the driver see the waiting area. There is no parking spot for handicap patients’ rides on Barnes, very few spots in the parking lot, and Access vans have no idea where to pick up a patient. After 2 hours’ wait on 2 separate visits my 91 year old aunt has given up and is going to the doc at Northgate now. Outrageous.
Good, but the new building eliminated all the drive-up handicap access spots for the medical office building whose Barnes Street entrance reads “1801 Market Street.” The actual building entrance on Market Street has no parking spot and patients waiting for a ride cannot see the vehicle, nor can the driver see the waiting area. There is no parking spot for handicap patients’ rides on Barnes, very few spots in the parking lot, and Access vans have no idea where to pick up a patient. After 2 hours’ wait on 2 separate visits my 91 year old aunt has given up and is going to the doc at Northgate now. Outrageous.
Yah, too bad the Swedish Emergency Physicians no longer accept Premera Blue Cross… We found out the hard way…
Yah, too bad the Swedish Emergency Physicians no longer accept Premera Blue Cross… We found out the hard way…
In contrast to the other posters – I would say “Swedish Emergency ROCKS”. We have been there many times for severe asthma breathing crises. My daughter was always given the best of care – in fact I wish they had more pediatric equipment. Once her crisis is past they often send us across town to Children’s hospital. A great place but WAY too busy – we often wait all night there for further assistance.
I am so happy to have Swedish Ballard nearby.
In contrast to the other posters – I would say “Swedish Emergency ROCKS”. We have been there many times for severe asthma breathing crises. My daughter was always given the best of care – in fact I wish they had more pediatric equipment. Once her crisis is past they often send us across town to Children’s hospital. A great place but WAY too busy – we often wait all night there for further assistance.
I am so happy to have Swedish Ballard nearby.
Are you sure that’s true, Basement? If they are no longer “contracted” with Premera, it’s very possible that PBC would pay your claim at the non-contracted rate. You might have to pay more than you would if they were PPO providers, but I’d be surprised if none of your claim was paid at all. That being said, if you had no insurance at all, you can always ask for a reduction in the ER doctor’s charge.
Are you sure that’s true, Basement? If they are no longer “contracted” with Premera, it’s very possible that PBC would pay your claim at the non-contracted rate. You might have to pay more than you would if they were PPO providers, but I’d be surprised if none of your claim was paid at all. That being said, if you had no insurance at all, you can always ask for a reduction in the ER doctor’s charge.
I toured the new facility before it opened and was really impressed. I also like that you don’t have to wait around in a waiting room, but are taken right in. It’s very family friendly and accessible and I’m so glad to know they’re here!
I toured the new facility before it opened and was really impressed. I also like that you don’t have to wait around in a waiting room, but are taken right in. It’s very family friendly and accessible and I’m so glad to know they’re here!
Did they get all new staff too? I will never go to Swedish ER again – unless my head is about to fall off. 1) Had an ER doc there tell me that white people needed to have more babies so “we” wouldn’t become a minority while stiching up my face. 2) Twice screwed up an IV on my son. We were transfered to Swedish First Hill and there the nurse said “Wow, that is the worst tape job on an IV I have ever seen.” She then told me “they are so bad with kids there … Just go to Northwest next time …”
We went to Swedish Ballard for an emergency last year and the care was fine. The problems started when we got the bill. They said they accepted our insurance, but they didn’t tell us that not all of the staff in the ER do.
So the hospital fees were in-network, and the doctor who treated me was in-network, but the physician’s assistant that did basically nothing but observe was out-of-network. As a result, she sent me a bill that the insurance company only paid a third of (while I paid the rest). What’s worse, she ended up getting paid 2 or 3 times what the actual doctor did. And when I tried to negotiate the bill with her office down to something reasonable they treated me like a deadbeat.
So if I ever have to go here again, I will make sure I ask every service provider that comes in the room if they are in-network with my insurance, and if not, I’ll ask for someone else, or to have them agree in writing to accept my insurance’s in-network rates for my care before they touch me.
It’s sad that you have to haggle the price of your care while you’re bleeding to death, but if you don’t at Swedish Ballard ER you may get hit with a doozy of a bill.
I am going to need the new ER next time I get attacked by a ballard homeless person which we will have tons more of once they put in the “rest stop” with out increasing law enforcement, drug treatment or psychiatric services for the homeless. What fun.
I want free health care, now. I want everybody else to pay for it though. Where do I sign up?
Ballard Emergency Physicians have been Premera Network Providers for approximately one year.
Rayburn Lewis MD, Executive Director Swedish Ballard
Swedish Ballard ER is the bestest ever. It’s the hidden gem of Seattle. :)
This is the healthcare system The Norwegian thinks works so well. It’s not Swedish’s fault. Single-payer would be much simpler, no?
Read Fleck’s post above. This is the system you want, right? Medical care as consumer product, where you have to shop to get the best deal. You don’t do your homework, you pay more. Seems fair to me, doesn’t it to you?
Where did you go the last time you were attacked by a Ballard homeless person? Would you recommend it to other victims of homeless-perpetrated violence?
What are you doing about handicap pickup and dropoff areas?
Worst doctors on the planet in my opinion. Swedish can suck it.
SCreeeeeeeww You, Sir. We hate your hospital in my family. How much do you make per year, out of curiousity? What is your salary???
Where’s Pho with a comment about the family-hating Caspar Babypants, his cronies at the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, and their nefarious plan to deprive Ballard of its family-friendly multi-use trail? Pho, you’re missing a great opportunity here!