Providence St Peter Hospital Modernization

A Hospital on the Move: Providence St. Peter Hospital Modernization

It’s no secret that moving is an overwhelming experience. Now imagine trying to move multiple hospital departments without disrupting operations or patient care. That’s the challenge Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia was facing as they embarked on an expansive modernization project across their 173-acre campus.

With over $1B in managed healthcare projects and a combined 100+ years of health care experience on our staff, Klosh Group was selected to lead the logistics of this complex project. At Providence’s request, we handled move coordination as they upgraded and modernized different areas across the hospital complex.

  • Location: Olympia, WA

    Size: 26,300 sq. ft

    Duration: 24 months

    Estimated Completion: December 2022

  • Client: Providence Health & Services

    Architect: JRJ Architects

    GC: Skanska

  • Project Management

    Move Coordination

    Communications

    Stakeholder Management

A synchronized effort

Shuffling hospital departments is a complex effort that requires careful planning, collaboration, and communication. Through in-depth brainstorming sessions with Providence technology, facilities, and security teams, we examined floor plans to determine which department should go where. We also created stakeholder engagement plans to ensure everyone understood the "why” behind the moves. And on the days departments were actively moving, we built out temporary measures so make sure that patient care was unimpeded.

Expanding the scope

After driving move coordination for over a year, Providence asked us to assist the lead construction manager at Providence on two additional projects. The first was a new Clinical Decision Unit designed for patients who need additional monitoring, while the second was a renovated Surgical Admission and Discharge Unit.

Playing a supporting role, we helped with everything from site walks and design coordination to risk assessments and general oversight. This value-added service ensured that construction projects ran smoothly in the high-stakes environment of an active hospital.  

Clear and open communication

Between department relocations and ongoing construction, there was a lot of change for St. Peter staffers to navigate. To keep everyone in the loop, we sent out weekly updates on the hospital’s internal network with information about current and upcoming work. These included key details like location, anticipated noise levels and points of contact, as well as the purpose and duration of the work. 

Not only did our strategic communication plan help hospital employees embrace the transitions, it also helped those who were moving hit the ground running in their new location.

A shared commitment to the community

Since opening the 42-bed Clinical Decision Unit in December of 2022, wait times to see a provider in the Emergency Department have decreased by nearly 20 minutes. And the newly renovated Surgical Admission and Discharge Unit allows for a better patient flow out of the emergency, surgical and procedural areas.

It’s all part of Providence St. Peter’s mission to improve the health of their community—and we’re proud to help them achieve it.