Off-Campus Outpatient Facilities Play Crucial Role in Improving Patient Care

MONROE, Wash., and DENVER, Colo. — In October 2013, NexCore Group completed its participation in the delivery of a two-story, 43,000-square-foot, off-campus ambulatory facility for Providence Medical Group and Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. PMG and PRMCE are members of Providence Health & Services , one of the largest not-for-profit health networks in the Western United States.

PMG operates multiple clinics throughout Snohomish County, Wash., and PRMCE, located in the city of Everett, is the highest-level trauma center in Northwest Washington. The new outpatient facility is located in the city of Monroe, a strategic submarket of Eastern Snohomish County that lies approximately 30 miles northeast of Seattle.

NexCore and Providence broke ground on the Providence Medical Building Monroe in November 2012, and the building opened to patients on Oct. 7, 2013.

“We worked closely with Providence to deliver an integrated medical home concept in a retail environment,” says Jarrod Daddis, executive managing director of development & acquisitions at NexCore. “This new facility is designed around patient-centered care and will be able to accommodate over 60,000 patient visits per year.”

Innovative Design and Coordinated Model of Care
Providence has served Eastern Snohomish County for nearly 30 years and had a vision for improving and expanding its services in the community. Providence hired NexCore Group to guide the delivery of a state-of-the-art facility that would provide patients with a coordinated model of care close to home.

“We are very pleased about our collaboration with NexCore. They were able to partner with us to deliver an attractive, integrated facility that houses comprehensive outpatient services in 12 months, from the time we closed on the land to the first patients that were seen,” says Tom Brennan, chief strategy officer for the Northwest Washington Region of Providence Health & Services. “NexCore worked with us to eliminate excess space and lower costs by incorporating Lean design concepts such as shared services.”

Brennan adds that after three months in operation the new facility is exceeding expectations and patient response is overwhelmingly positive.

Medical Building Monroe houses an urgent care center, full-service imaging center, non-invasive diagnostics, lab services, retail pharmacy, coffee bistro and an education and conference center.

The medical building also provides space for more than 30 medical providers in the areas of primary care, cardiology, ENT, gastroenterology, general surgery, midwifery, neurology, neurosurgery, OB/GYN, orthopedics, pain management, physical medicine and rehab, sleep health and urology.

In addition to providing comprehensive services, the building offers the latest in healthcare facility design and technology, including:

• Centralized check in
• Self-rooming, which allows patients to go straight to their exam room
• Patient portal, which allows patients to communicate with their physician, request prescription refills and schedule appointments online
• Single electronic health record (including medical history, test results, medication lists, immunization records, physician instruction and health education information), which patients can view online

Providence’s Strategic Plan
Between 2005 and 2011, Providence implemented multiple projects including a $67- million office building housing its cancer program and a $450-million main campus expansion and renovation project that included a 12-story bed tower. PRMCE services a primary service area  of over 500,000 patients in north suburban Seattle, Wash. and wanted to strengthen its presence in the PSA by developing a network of off-campus outpatient facilities that would offer patients coordinated, comprehensive services under one roof and close to home. In 2010, after running a national competitive process, PMG and PRMCE selected NexCore Group to provide an array of healthcare real estate services for its ambulatory network.

NexCore’s Role
NexCore studied the PSA market and collaborated with PMG and PRMCE leaders to plan its ambulatory network. The Monroe submarket was prioritized for the first network facility due to competitive factors and because Providence had a nearly 30-year presence in the submarket that needed enhancing. NexCore defined and studied the Monroe PSA, selected and acquired the optimal site and worked with Providence to complete a business plan. Work on the business plan included determination of the physician complement and outpatient services mix, estimation of the service line volumes, development of the space program, and estimation of project costs and cost of occupancy assumptions.

The original building program called for 50,000 square feet; however, NexCore was able to work closely with Providence and the architect during the program validation phase to reduce the building size to 43,000 square feet, while maintaining all services and reducing the hospital’s lease expense.

In addition, NexCore assisted PRMCE with site planning, entitlement, selection and supervision of architect and contractor, development and project management, financial analysis and project approvals.

Fact Sheet  
Size:  Two levels; 43,000 gross square feet
Construction Start:  November 2012
Construction Completion:  October 2013
Architect:  CollinsWoerman, Seattle
Construction Manager:  Sellen Construction, Seattle

For a video tour of Providence Medical Building Monroe, please click here:  http://goo.gl/CEffvl.