MultiCare Covington Medical Center Plans
The new MultiCare Covington Medical Center will expand on the current primary care and specialty services offered by MultiCare Covington Clinic, providing:
- 24-hour, 7-day freestanding emergency room
- Women’s & children’s health care center
- Childbirth service (1st in the community)
- Expanded pediatric services (Mary Bridge at Covington)
- Inpatient surgical services (including robotic-assisted and minimally invasive surgeries)
- 58 hospital beds for inpatient medical care
Emergency and Medical Services
Currently more than 15,000 patients per year are forced to seek emergency treatment as much as 30 minutes away from home. Early intervention at the new emergency room could save lives each year in the community. Given that the fastest-growing age group in the area is people who are 65 or older, the new emergency room answers a pressing community need.
The new freestanding emergency room is scheduled to open in spring 2012. In addition to the emergency room, MultiCare Covington Medical Center will add a total of 58 hospital beds, which are specifically designated to accommodate inpatient referrals from the emergency room.
Women’s and Children’s Center
Our women and children’s center will offer a continuum of high-quality health care for women, including prenatal, childbirth and gynecological services. In addition, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital pediatric specialists and services will provide advanced care for children ranging from newborns to young adults.
Expanded Health Care Services for Women
Women in labor and their families will enter the medical center through a special entrance for women’s 
services and be escorted to the triage room or to their private birthing room for labor, delivery and recovery. The focus will be on providing a comfortable patient experience in a family-centered manner, with lounges and in-room sleeping accommodations offered to family members.
Childbirth services will include:
- Prenatal testing and ultrasound
- High-risk maternal-fetal medicine specialists
- Labor triage rooms
- Labor, delivery and recovery rooms
- Caesarean section and recovery rooms
- OB anesthesia services.
Women will receive surgical care in the surgical center and then be cared for in the women’s center where they’ll receive gender-specific amenities and care. All women receiving services at Covington, whether they’re delivering a baby or undergoing minimally invasive surgery, will have access to the full resources and facilities of the MultiCare system, including the Tacoma General Hospital Level IIIB NICU, the Good Samaritan Hospital Level II Intermediate Care Nursery, as well as such specialty care as maternal-fetal medicine, uro-gynecology and gynecological oncology.
The Resources and Expertise of Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital
For the first time ever, Mary Bridge pediatric services will bring their renowned expertise to the South King County area. Following delivery, babies will be cared for by pediatricians affiliated with Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. Doctors at MultiCare Covington Medical Center will also have telemedicine and teleconferencing capabilities enabling them to quickly and easily consult with specialists across the MultiCare system. Transport will be available to other facilities for highly specialized treatment, if needed.
The emergency room will be staffed by pediatric-trained providers. Telemedicine will also link the emergency room with other sub-specialists located at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma.
Pediatric surgical specialties will include ear, nose & throat, general surgery, orthopedics, gastroenterology and dentistry with pediatric anesthesiology. Pediatric patients will be treated in a surgical center with all the necessary pediatric equipment. MultiCare Covington Medical Center will have eight inpatient and eight short-stay beds, staffed by pediatric providers.
Staff trained in pediatric medicine will deliver care in a child-friendly environment. This expansion will be another example of MultiCare bringing pediatric subspecialty services to the community setting, as it has done in Olympia and Puyallup. MultiCare is committed to bringing the considerable resources of the only pediatric hospital in the South Sound area to the residents of South King County.
Surgical Services
The new surgery center will be a minimally invasive surgery Center of Excellence offering patients 
advanced technologies and procedures, some of which are not currently available in the community. Because of MultiCare’s early adoption of robotic-assisted surgery and other minimally invasive surgical techniques, MultiCare is one of the most experienced providers of these types of innovative surgeries in the South Puget Sound region With robotic surgical systems and other technologies in place, adult and pediatric surgical patients will have access to minimally invasive cardiac, oncology, gynecology, urology, orthopedics and general surgery procedures, allowing for shorter hospital stays and faster recovery times.