PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center

PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center
PeaceHealth
Map
Geography
Location2901 Squalicum Parkway, Bellingham, Washington, Washington, United States
Coordinates48°46′24″N 122°28′26″W / 48.7734°N 122.4739°W / 48.7734; -122.4739
Services
Emergency departmentLevel II trauma center
Beds251
HelipadFAA LID: WN73
Public transit accessBus interchange WTA[a]
History
Former name(s)St. Joseph Hospital
OpenedJanuary 1891
Links
WebsitePeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center
ListsHospitals in Washington State

PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center (commonly shortened to St. Joe's)[2] is a hospital operated by PeaceHealth in Bellingham, Washington. Its trauma center is the Haggen Family Emergency and Trauma Center, a level II trauma center.[3]

The hospital provides general medical care, as well as specialized treatment for heart and joint conditions and cancer.[4] It is the only hospital in Whatcom County.[5] They have 251 licensed beds.[6]

History

[edit]

St. Joseph Hospital was opened in January 1891, established by nuns of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace; it was the first hospital established by what is now PeaceHealth.[7] St. Joseph was originally located in a two-story home in Fairhaven with 30 beds. The hospital moved to their first permanent home—on Forest Street—in 1901. It moved to a suburban campus in 1966 centered around an 81-bed building. St. Joseph acquired the crosstown St. Luke's Hospital in 1989 after the two hospitals agreed to end their long rivalry.[8]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital changed its visitation policies multiple times, but opened patients to one visitor at a time starting in September 2022 and two visitors starting in October of that year.[9][10]

Helipad

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The hospital's helipad[b] is often used to airlift patients to Harborview Medical Center,[12] the only level I trauma center in the state. Medical airlift services at St. Joseph are operated by AirLift Northwest[13] and Life Flight Network.[14]

Video of airlift helicopter at St. Joseph Medical Center
video icon Airlift 6 Touching Down via Facebook

Rankings

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The hospital was ranked number 9 in the state of Washington by U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Rankings.[15]

Notes

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  1. ^ The hospital is served by WTA's route Hospital/Cordata – Hospital/Downtown[1]
  2. ^ Officially registered with the Federal Aviation Administration as "ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL MAIN CAMPUS HELIPORT"[11]

References

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  1. ^ "St Joseph Hospital". Whatcom Transportation Authority.
  2. ^ Schwartz, Ralph (May 31, 2023). "Fired from St. Joe's, Bellingham doctor stands his ground". Cascadia Daily News. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Haggen Family Emergency and Trauma Center at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center". PeaceHealth. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "PeaceHealth Medical Group/PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center". bellingham.org. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "Bellingham, Washington". UW Pediatrics. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ^ "PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, Whatcom County" (PDF). PeaceHealth.
  7. ^
  8. ^ Ferm, Carol (January 8, 1991). "A century of hospital care". The Bellingham Herald. p. C1. Retrieved November 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Smith, Adam (September 7, 2022). "Bellingham hospital rolls back COVID visitor restrictions". 790 KGMI. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  10. ^ PeaceHealth (October 26, 2022). "PeaceHealth Eases Visitation Policy Further as Whatcom County Transmission Rates Continue to Decline". WhatcomTalk. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  11. ^ "Location Identifiers Search Tool". Federal Aviation Administration. WN73.
  12. ^ As attributed in news sources such as:
  13. ^ Benoit, Matt (November 24, 2018). "AirLift Northwest's Randy Nash: Flying to Save Lives". WhatcomTalk. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "Life Flight Network". January 13, 2021 – via Facebook.
  15. ^ "PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center". U.S. News Best Hospitals. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved November 10, 2023.