Summit Pacific Hospital Expansion

Summit Pacific’s Hospital Expansion enhances its operations to better serve its community.

Nestled in the scenic rural area of Elma, Washington, Summit Pacific Medical Center (SPMC) serves the vast region from Elma to the west coast, encompassing a population of over 100,000.

Despite opening in 2013, SPMC has faced challenges with inpatient bed shortages, limited support space, and inadequate storage, while seeing increasing volumes of acute and emergency department patients. An expansion was essential to adequately address the community’s growing medical needs.

The design team echoed the architectural character of the existing hospital (top center) in the new expansion (dark blue), and the renovation (light blue).

Mahlum worked closely with SPMC’s staff and leadership to design a 32,000 SF expansion, aimed at doubling the emergency department and inpatient bed capacity and accommodating a 1.5T MRI scanner expansion in the diagnostic imagining department. The design goal was to create an aesthetically pleasing, comfortable, and efficient facility for patients and staff alike, with a strong focus on the surrounding natural environment.

The SPMC’s expansion and renovation doubles emergency department and inpatient bed capacity, provides expanded diagnostic imaging services, and allows for the efficient delivery of medical care to the region’s population. A garden area, stormwater swale, and lush foliage provides a serene environment for patients and promotes sustainability, enhancing SPMC’s commitment to the community’s well-being.

The Summit Pacific Medical Center’s expansion ensures that the growing population across this vast rural region—from Elma to the coast—has access to elevated, patient-centered care for generations to come.