Swedish opening

By Warren KagariseIssaquah Press reporter

Dr. Lily JungHenson built a national repu-tation as a multiple sclerosis expert as inno-vations in treatment transformed the dis-ease from a death sentence to a more man-ageable condition.

The longtime neurologist chose the spe-cialty due in part to the challenge as neurol-ogy and treatments evolve. Now, JungHen-son is about to embark on another chal-lenge as chief of staff at Swedish/Issaquah.

“I’m a big fan of Swedish. It’s evolved intoa health-care system that really cares aboutpatients. It’s not just lip service,” she said.“There are a lot of people in leadership po-sitions who want to do the right thing andwho are very motivated.”

JungHenson, a Mercer Island resident, isresponsible for leading the 200-membermedical staff. The chief of staff is responsi-ble for procedures, such as credentialing —evaluating qualifications and practice his-tory — for medical staff members, and en-suring physicians and other health-careprofessionals gel as a team. (The staff is ex-pected to include about 200 physicians afterthe entire hospital comes online in Novem-ber.)

Dr. John Milne, vice president of medicalaffairs for Swedish/Issaquah and the emer-gency and ambulatory care centers in Red-mond and Mill Creek, said leaders choseJungHenson because she has exceptionalpeople skills.

“Lily, from my perspective, is a passion-

ate, dynamic leader, and is really someonewho has the ability to engage, inspire andenergize staff,” he said.

The modern hospital, much like MS treat-ments, has evolved since JungHensonstarted practicing medicine. For patients,earlier MS diagnoses lead to improved out-comes for patients.

Swedish/Issaquah, hospital executivessaid in introducing the facility to the com-

munity, is meant to do the same for healthcare.

“It’s about efficiency. It’s about my pa-tients not having to go halfway across townto access the care that they need. I can justwalk down the hall and say, ‘Hey, Dr. So-and-so, would you mind seeing my pa-

C1 • A Commemorative Newspaper Section The Issaquah Press Wednesday, July 6, 2011

�INSIDE: NEWS AND INFORMATION ABOUT ISSAQUAH’S HOSPITALDiscover features for health and wellness, learning opportunities and community philanthropy:C2: Local artists’ works adorn hospital walls

Hospital prepares to welcome bundles of joyC3: Fundraising effort enlists community’s help

Community can learn tips for a healthier lifeC4: Track Swedish/Issaquah’s construction in photosC8: Residents shape hospital’s amenities

[ ]Welcome,Swedish/Issaquah

As the entire region will soonenjoy the expanded medicalcare offered by Swedish/Is-saquah, our city has muchmore to celebrate: a great fit

with this community.Some benefits are obvious. We now

have a state-of-the-art hospital andmedical campus that offers emergencyservices, a highly advanced cancer cen-ter and an impressive list of specialty-care services — all here in our back-yard.

Swedish, however, provides plenty ofadditional perks for Issaquah. The

healthcare provider consistently advo-cates for healthier lifestyles, which fitswell with our active, outdoor-orientedcommunity.

The nonprofit organization is alsovery much in sync with Public Health –Seattle & King County. Both organiza-tions aim to educate the public that“health” is not merely the absence of ill-ness, but is rather a longer, more enjoy-able life. Look soon for Swedish’s greatvariety of free or low-cost classes re-garding vital health topics here in Is-saquah.

Swedish/Issaquah is also the most en-

ergy-efficient medical complex in the re-gion. Such a commitment to sustainabil-ity mirrors the city’s efforts to spearheadseveral ultra-“green” projects, includingthe zero-energy zHome and the MapleStreet Fire Station.

In addition, the medical campus willundoubtedly boost our economic vitality.A new café, pharmacy and retail shopsare all located on site. In total, morethan 900 employees from Swedish andits affiliates will soon be a part of thegrowing Issaquah Highlands workforceby the end of the year.

Even our art community will benefit

from the new campus. A large collectionis featured on site, including severalworks that depict Issaquah themes. AsSwedish advocates: “art heals.”

The healthcare provider is also aproven community partner. Swedish isalready a sponsor of several events andorganizations, including Salmon Days,the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, Is-saquah Schools Foundation, Friends ofYouth and the Rotary Club of Issaquah.

Welcome, Swedish. You’ve found agreat home here in Issaquah.

Ava Frisinger is the mayor of Issaquah.

Ava Frisinger

Swedish Medical Center: A great fit for Issaquah[ ]

Hospital names ‘dynamic leader’ as chief of staffMEET SOME TOP DOCS AT SWEDISH/ISSAQUAH

Dr. Kristen Austin

Dr. Howard Lewis

Dr.Alexis Falicov

Dr. Kristen Austin, a longtimeobstetrician-gynecologist, spe-cializes in urogynecology — asurgical subspecialty of urologyand gynecology — and receivesa boost from robots to performsome procedures. Austin isboard certified in obstetrics andgynecology.

Dr. Alexis Falicov is proficientin English, Spanish, French,Chinese and American SignLanguage, but at SwedishMedical Center, the board-certi-fied orthopedic surgeon isknown for proficiency in spine-related issues.

Dr. Howard Lewis serves asthe executive director at theSwedish Heart and VascularInstitute. The interventional car-diologist specializes in treatingcardiovascular disease. Lewis isboard certified in internal medi-cine, cardiology and interven-tional cardiology.

BY GREG FARRAR

Dr. Lily JungHenson (left) and Anna Jung, 86, arrive at Swedish/Issaquah on June 30 so the chiefof staff’s proud mother can visit her daughter’s new office.

Swedish/Issaquah opens July 14 after 22 months ofconstruction and $365 million. Swedish Medical Center, a101-year-old nonprofit hospital system, is preparing to cutthe ribbon on the Eastside’s first new hospital since 1972.Community members can peek inside Swedish/Issaquahat a public celebration and open house July 9.

See CHIEF, Page C7

C2 • Wednesday, July 6, 2011 The Issaquah Press

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By Emily BaerIssaquah Press intern

Swedish/Issaquah will continue themedical center’s lauded promotion ofhealing through art. The new hospitalfeatures approximately 200 pieces bymore than 60 Northwest artists —

several of them from the Eastside — in themedical office building and emergencyroom.

“When patients become absorbed in awork of art, their bodies’ physiology actuallychanges, moving from sensations of stressand fear to feelings of relaxation and hope,”according to Swedish/Issaquah’s website.

“It’s pretty simple — art does heal,” volun-teer chairwoman of the Art Committee JoyceTurner said. “It humanizes what could be adehumanizing environment.”

A history and culture of artSwedish Medical Center has embodied that

philosophy since the 1960s, when then-Sur-geon Medical Director and CEO Allan Lobbdecided to incorporate art into the culture ofthe hospital.

Turner assumed Lobb’s artistic role whenhe retired in 1988. She has been adorningthe walls and spaces of Swedish facilitiesever since. The medical center’s art portfolionow numbers in the 2,000s.

The search for the Issaquah campus’s col-lection began with an art committee of 15hospital staff and community members,

Turner said. They were charged with sup-porting an environment associated with thehospital’s overarching theme of “nature, nur-ture and community.” The committee struc-ture was key to creating a collection with apersonality that befits the community inwhich the hospital is situated.

From there, members of the committeevisited galleries seeking the works of North-west artists that reflected the “nature, nur-ture and community” theme. These artlovers and connoisseurs brought their cho-sen pieces of art to the entire group for re-view.

The result is what Turner calls “an eclecticcollection” of sculpture, metal and wood, oiland caustic paintings, watercolor and fineprints.

“Some people will hate some of it, somepeople will love it all,” Turner said. “Whenyou have a large committee you do have peo-ple with different tastes, but it kind of all bal-ances out.”

Healing, engagement and distractionThat’s the beauty of art, she said. One

piece may spark a host of opinions, but eachpiece is meant to provoke thought in all itsviewers.

“It’s all about healing and an engagement,”she said. “And a distraction for people.”

The Swedish/Issaquah collection will alsoincorporate 17 works by 34 children andyoung adults from the Eastside. The art com-mittee communicated a request for youngartists from the Issaquah School District andrecruited Brooke Kempner to create finalproducts out of the students’ work. A greatexample of Kempner’s and the children’swork is “Horse Joy,” a collage of eight stu-dents’ drawings of a horse.

Swedish’s extensive art collection is fi-nanced by donations, gifts to the Art Endow-ment Fund and 1 percent of all constructioncosts.

According to the Washington State ArtsCommission website, the state enacted a lawin 1974 requiring 0.5 percent of constructioncosts for any public place to pay for the ac-quisition of art. King County, in fact, had es-tablished a similar ordinance the year beforethat required 1 percent of public place con-struction costs to be set aside for art.Swedish had been including art into itsbuilding costs since the 1960s.

“Swedish kind of made incorporating artthe norm,” Turner said. “After the state pol-icy was passed, other private nonprofits be-gan following suit.”

The Swedish/Issaquah art committee col-laborated with artEAST, a nonprofit visualarts organization with the mission of sup-porting the community’s artists, to find localartists to contribute to the collection.

“Our role was to gather portfolios forSwedish to introduce them to additional Is-saquah/Sammamish and area artists theymight not otherwise be familiar with,”artEAST Executive Director Karen Abel said.“ArtEAST membership consists of 200 artistsand art supporters, so we had a wider con-tact list than they did.”

Pieces are life-affirming, an escapeSeveral of the local artists Swedish/Is-

saquah features are passionate about therole of art in public spaces and its healingpower in a medical setting.

Dixie Parker-Fairbanks, an acrylic painterbased in Issaquah, knows the value of art in

hospital settings well. She spent the lastseven months of her husband’s life in theUniversity of Washington hospital. RichardFairbanks was a well-known potter who haddedicated his life to creating art.

“One of the things we did in the eveningwas take him around to look at the artwork,to get out of the sterile room,” Parker-Fair-banks said. “I hung one of my flower paint-ings in his room and the doctors all cameand looked at it. It gave them a pause fromtheir work.”

Her piece, “Bucharest Bouquet,” of a blue-and-white vase holding pale yellow sunflow-ers on a multishaded blue background hasbeen moved from the Lake SammamishSwedish campus to the new Issaquah cam-pus.

Redmond painter Susan Melrath, an artistwho Swedish Art Program Manager NancyStoaks called an exciting new addition to thecollection, was surprised by the hospital’schoice of her work.

“I heard that hospitals didn’t buy pieceswith red in them,” she said.

The art committee purchased Melrath’s“Crimson Kiss,” a large flower of myriad bril-liant reds.

“I asked them why they bought that piece,”Melrath said. “They said it’s life affirming. Ithink that’s true about my work.”

Another Issaquah artist Stoaks said she islooking forward to featuring, Ricco di Ste-fano, said he creates paintings of “nonde-script locations that people can project theirown places onto.”

Di Stefano’s depiction of a nonspecificfarm, “Morning Mist,” is an expression of amemory of a feeling he had.

“People seem to go home in my paintings,”di Stefano said. “They find a place thatmakes them happy. They escape.”

‘Art is a bare necessity’Paul Vexler, a Snohomish artist whose “Big

Suspended Six Inch Closed Knot” is on dis-play in the atrium entry of the hospital,spoke about the importance of art in publicplaces.

“I think that it’s a reminder that, well,buildings are more than places to work in, toget well in, to live in,” he said. “There ismore to life than the bare necessities, ormaybe art is a bare necessity.”

Sammamish artist and framer David Alli-son said his Swedish pieces, “Monument,”“Plowing at Dawn” and “Summer Green,”speak to the area, its farms and its naturalhistory.

“I think art can have a healing presence,”Allison said. “People come through hospitalsneeding health and needing peace. Art sup-plies a lot of that.”

Vashon Island sculptor Julie Speidel’s bluecopper, almost Picasso-esque sculpture“Anahit” is in one of the hospital’s court-yards. In all her work, Speidel captures thebeautiful and the mysterious.

She referenced an Albert Einstein quote toexplain her proclivity for mystery — “Themost beautiful thing we can experience is themysterious. It is the source of all true art andall science.”

“Art is powerful and mysterious,” sheadded. “ It’s wonderful if you can feel thatgoing into a hospital. I think that art allowsyou to tap into beauty and beauty is healing.”

Emily Baer: 392-6434, or [email protected] at www.issaquahpress.com.

By Laura GeggelIssaquah Press reporter

Little fingers and little toes willsoon be a common sight atSwedish/Issaquah hospital.

The new childbirth center willhave eight labor, delivery and re-covery rooms, each with its ownJacuzzi and foldout couch for nap-ping partners.

Two operating rooms are avail-able in the labor, delivery and re-covery section in case the motherneeds a Caesarean section.

Once a baby is born, the motherand infant will be taken across thewindow-filled hallway to the post-partum unit, where she and herpartner will learn about baby be-

havior, such as feeding cues, andhave the opportunity to ask nursesquestions about the newest mem-ber of the family.

Having a childbirth center is in-tegral to any hospital, according toPenny Simkin, physical therapist,doula, Seattle childbirth educatorand author.

“I think that from a businesspoint of view it makes a lot ofsense for a hospital to have abirthing center,” Simkin said. “It’sthe first association that healthyyoung people have with a hospitalwhen they’re giving birth, and ifit’s a positive experience they’ll goback there in other realms.”

When an expecting mother firstcomes into Swedish/Issaquah,

hospital staff members will directher to a triage bed. Medical pro-fessionals will examine themother-to-be, and move her to alabor, delivery and recovery roomif she is in labor.

The rooms are 471 square feet,including the bathroom.

“We want it to be a very warmand welcoming homelike atmos-phere where patients and familiescan be as comfortable as possible,but still have the technology avail-able if they are experiencing anykind of complications,” Wendy Col-gan, inpatient nurse manager ofobstetrics and pediatrics, said.

Some childbirth centers haveJacuzzi tubs in the bathroom, butSwedish/Issaquah put the tubs in

the main room, so family mem-bers can be together with thepregnant woman.

Studies have shown that offeringhot water baths, more technicallycalled hydrotherapy in labor, helpsmost women during labor.

In a 2004 paper she co-authoredwith April Bolding in the Journalof Midwifery & Women’s Health,Simkin noted that women who im-merse themselves in water deepenough to cover their abdomen of-ten find enhanced relaxation, re-duced labor pain and better laborprogress.

“Having water available in laboris a wonderful way to help awoman relax and to help her dealwith the pain of labor,” Simkin

said. “A roomy tub is very desir-able. A tiny little home-type bathdoesn’t allow people to stretch outand enjoy the water.”

Between 15 and 20 obstetricianswill be on staff at Swedish/Is-saquah, as well as family-practicephysicians who have obstetricianprivileges and certified nurse-mid-wives.

Depending on their needs, themother and child, or children,could have varying lengths ofstay at the hospital. Women whogive birth vaginally usually stayfor between 24 and 48 hours,Colgan said. Women who get C-sections typically stay at least 72hours.

In addition to the eight labor,

delivery and recovery rooms andthe postpartum unit, Swedish/Is-saquah will have eight pediatricbeds that will open Nov. 1 duringthe hospital’s second phase.

Children who have medical is-sues, such as those fighting a res-piratory infection or having theirappendix removed, can stay at thepediatric unit. Children with moreacute medical problems will likelygo to Seattle Children’s.

“We are very proud that we canprovide pediatrics care in the com-munity so they’re not having totravel into Seattle,” Colgan said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 241, [email protected]. Comment atwww.issaquahpress.com.

Childbirth center offers ‘welcoming, homelike atmosphere’

Hospital artwork is designed to heal, nurtureCommittee worked tofind local artists of

all ages for collection [ ]“It’s pretty simple — art does heal.It humanizes what could be adehumanizing environment.”JOYCE TURNERArt Committee volunteer chairwoman

At left: ‘Anahit’ by Julie Speidel. Top right: ‘Horse Joy’ compiled by Brooke Kempner, from youth artists Emma Brenchley, Quinn Burford, Gage Hawkins, Megan Namba, Mallory Pare, Katie Pippel,Benjamin Vandehey and Chirag Vedullapalli. Middle right: ‘Bucharest Bouquet’ by Dixie Parker-Fairbanks. Bottom right: ‘Crimson Kiss’ by Susan Melrath

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A nonprofit skilled nursing facility Serving the Eastside

The Issaquah Press Wednesday, July 6, 2011 • C3

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By Tim PfarrIssaquah Press reporter

As the lights come on at Swedish/Issaquah and thehospital comes to life, the facility will begin workingtoward its true purpose: serving patients. However, forthe nonprofit Swedish Medical Center, some of themost revered services to be offered in Issaquah willrely on donor and volunteer support.

Swedish has collected more than $900,000 in dona-tions for the Issaquah hospital, and the money col-lected will fund services within the Swedish Cancer In-stitute, Women & Children Services — including laborand delivery — and pediatrics. Donations are also usedto cover miscellaneous needs throughout the hospital.

“Where philanthropy is going to be really importantis supporting aspects of the patient experience,” saidMaggie Angle, Swedish director of major gifts. “We callit the margin of excellence. The hospital operates at anexcellent level on its own, but when philanthropy

comes in, it makes it extraordi-nary.”

The Cancer Institute — on theground floor of the facility — is anoutpatient clinic. Funds from thecampaign will provide patientswith access to social workers, aneducation resource center andother support systems.

Swedish has not yet started ac-cepting gifts for Women & ChildrenServices or its pediatrics unit; An-gle said it has not pinpointed fund-ing needs in those areas.

However, once donation mecha-nisms are in place, contributionswill fund things such as child lifespecialists, who work closely withyoung patients to abate the stressof hospital visits.

Several Issaquah and Sam-mamish residents also banded to-gether to create the Swedish/Is-saquah Pediatric Guild. The guildstarted by fundraising and spread-ing the word about services the fa-cility will offer.

“I’m emotionally and passion-ately connected to the pediatric services at Swedish,”guild member Kristen Wehrman said.

She said her 10-year-old son underwent two surger-ies with Swedish doctors, and the unique programs thedonations support are what keep the nonprofit a stepahead of its competitors.

“That’s what makes those patients smile and want tocome back to Swedish,” she said.

The guild has five members, who will have an infor-mational booth at the July 9 opening celebration.Wehrman said guild members would also volunteer inthe hospital this fall.

Volunteer opportunities will start at Swedish/Is-saquah with the July 14 grand opening, although op-

Philanthropy to play key role inSwedish/Issaquah patient services

HOW TO HELPDonate to the Campaign for Swedish�Go to www.campaignfor-swedish.org and click “Donate.”You can donate to specific servic-es in the hospital or allowSwedish to use the funds wherethey are needed most.

Volunteer at Swedish/Issaquah�Go towww.swedish.org/issaquahvolun-teer or call 313-2300 after July 9.

Join the Swedish/IssaquahPediatric Guild�Call Swedish Director of MajorGifts Maggie Angle at 206-386-6770.

[ ]“The hospital operates at an excellentlevel on its own, but when philanthropycomes in, it makes it extraordinary.”MAGGIE ANGLESwedish Medical Center director of major gifts

portunities will be more extensive after the second-phase opening in the fall, Volunteer Coordinator PinkyHerrera said. Opportunities this summer will be mostlylimited to transporting patients, such as those inwheelchairs.

Swedish Medical Center Foundation Executive Direc-tor Don Theophilus said it has been exciting building adonor and volunteer base in Issaquah.

“Fundraising’s important for any facility, but in par-ticular when you are ‘new to the community,’” he said.“You want to engage community members in their newhospital.”

Swedish launched its philanthropic Campaign forSwedish in 2007, setting a goal of raising $100 millionto increase services for its patients. It has since raisedmore than $76 million.

Tim Pfarr: 392-6434, ext. 239, or [email protected]. Commentat www.issaquahpress.com.

CONTRIBUTED

From left, Tucker Wehrman, 6, Finley Wehrman, 3, Skylar Shetterly, 8, ConnorShetterly, 12, and Logan Wehrman, 10, sell snacks to benefit theSwedish/Issaquah Pediatric Guild.

By Laura GeggelIssaquah Press reporter

How should teenagers educate themselvesabout babysitting? What facts should peopleknow about joint replacement surgery?

The Swedish/Issaquah hospital staff will an-swer these questions and more through theprogramming at its new education center.

The new hospital has several conferencerooms available not only for community educa-tion but also for community group use.

All of the conference rooms at Swedish/Is-saquah are audio and video ready with presen-tation tools including projectors, screens andsound systems. The rooms will not have com-puters available for public use until Phase 2opens Nov. 1.

Historically, Swedish offered its communityeducation classes — some of them free, otherswith a fee for instruction and materials — at itsSammamish campus near Pine Lake.

“We are expanding those services based onspace and community need,” Sara Rigel,Swedish manager of patient education andcommunity health, said.

Classes will span every age and include topicssuch as baby sign language;growing up male and grow-ing up female puberty; get-ting rid of back pain; andwhat’s new in treatingheart problems.

While some classes lastonly one day, such as the$40 “Safe Sitter” class of-fered at Swedish/Issaquahon Aug. 10, other classeslast several weeks, such asthe $147, four-session “Hopto Signaroo Baby Sign Lan-guage” class startingAug. 2.

Community members canalso find listings of theclasses in Swedish’s quar-terly newsletter, Health-Watch.

Once the hospital is run-ning smoothly, administrators plan to start ayoga studio in Swedish/Issaquah’s flex space,Rigel said.

All of the classes allow the public to useSwedish as a resource.

“The focus is community health education,”Rigel said. “It’s to help people learn more abouttheir health and health care, to prevent diseaseand live a healthier life, and manage those con-ditions that they have.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext, 241, [email protected]. Comment atwww.issaquahpress.com.

WHAT TO KNOWRegister for classes online atwww.swedish.org/classes. Clickon “complete listing of classes”and then select “Eastside.” Or callthe James Douglas HealthEducation Center at First Hill at206-386-2502. Some classes arefree; others have a nominal fee.

Subscribe to the quarterly newslet-ter HealthWatch by emailing [email protected] asking for the Eastside edition.

Health education forcommunity is a priority

From groundbreakingto grand opening

Construction started on Swedish/Issaquah in August2009. Gov. Chris Gregoire, Mayor Ava Frisinger and hos-pital executives gathered for a groundbreaking ceremonyin October 2009.

Crews added the last steel beam to the medical officebuilding skeleton in August 2010. Major constructionwrapped in June 2011.

Community members can see the completed hospitalat Highlands Day on July 9, or after opening day, July 14.

C4 • Wednesday, July 6, 2011 The Issaquah Press

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[ ]

Above left: Shanthi Pathi, project assistant for Sellen Construction, smiles after adding her signature to others in August 2010 on the finalstructural steel beam. Above right: Construction workers look on as the final structural steel beam is raised in August 2010. At right: Thenorth wall of Swedish/Issaquah is almost finished in March 2011.

Top: The construction site in the Issaquah Highlands in February 2010.At left: Leaders, including Gov. Chris Gregoire and Mayor Ava Frisinger,turn dirt in October 2009. Above: Carpenters work during March 2011.

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At left: Massive amounts of heated and chilled water flow in a maze of pipes inside the centralutility plant. Above: Swedish/Issaquah surgery support staff members arrive at the west entrancethe morning of June 13, for their first day touring the building.

At left: Dr. John Milne, Swedish vice president for medical affairs, stands in March 2011 inside a radiology vault des-tined to become a treatment room. Above: Registered nurses Joe Richter, (left) and Fay Payton use sticky dots in Juneto show work crews where to install containers. Below right: The Swedish sign is lifted into place on May 18, 2011.Below left: Driveways and sidewalks take shape near a future green space.

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tient?’” JungHenson said. “That’s the provision ofcontinuity of care that is really the core of the patientexperience. I’m really excited about it.”

The hospital is built to last for a century. JungHen-son can impart a lasting influence on medical staffmembers for years to come.

“I see my role as developing the culture for themedical staff,” she said. “What does it mean to bepart of the medical staff at Swedish/Issaquah?”

Hospital offers high-tech healingJungHenson joined the hospital system as a

physician 21 years ago and, as she built a career,she also experienced Swedish as a patient whenshe delivered both of her children at the hospital.

The knowledge shaped how she approached thechief of staff role as the Issaquah hospital pre-pared to open.

“One of the beautiful things about Swedish/Is-saquah, which I’m really excited about is, becausewe’re building a hospital from the ground up andbringing together a new medical staff — some ofwhom are from the community and have not beentraditionally part of Swedish, and some of whomare Swedish employees, like me, and have beenfor a long time — I think it’s really a wonderful op-portunity to tie together a lot of people with talentand grow a wonderful medical staff,” she said.

JungHenson appreciates high-tech — electronicpatient records, for instance — and old-fashioned— a compassionate bedside manner — elementsin equal measure. Swedish/Issaquah, she said, ismeant to combine established practices and inno-vations in order to speed patients’ healing.

“It’s really exciting the way the hospital has beendesigned, in that we’re trying to figure out how tomost efficiently manage the patient’s course, sothat there isn’t redundancy, so that there isn’twaste,” she said. “I think it’s a wonderful adven-ture that we’re going on.”

Wellness is doctor’s focus for patientsCome late summer, just before the season

changes to a mushy gray, JungHenson calls on col-leagues, patients and others to join the effort tofund MS research.

The fundraiser is no evening-gown-and-black-tieaffair. Instead, JungHenson and company pedalacross Evergreen State countryside each year forBike MS as a team called the Swedish SmyelinBabes.

Swedish, of course, is for the hospital, smyelin isa riff on myelin, a nerve insulation destroyed inMS, and babes, JungHenson explained, is a unisexterm.

The ride offers a snapshot for patients and col-leagues. JungHenson is comfortable as a leader,deploys a playful sense of humor to put patients atease, and understands how recreation and medi-cine can — and should — coexist.

“We all have an obligation to be really proactiveabout taking care of ourselves, making sure thatwe do all of the preventative health things that we’resupposed to do, like mammograms and colonoscopiesand what-not as you get older,” she said.

Similar messages about preventative care underpindiscussions between the doctor and patients. Concernsometimes prompts JungHenson to surreptitiouslysnatch patients’ cigarette packs during appointments.

“I’m shameless,” she said.JungHenson, a runner in addition to being a long-

time cyclist, also encourages patients to put aside ex-cuses and exercise, just as she does.

“It’s not pretty. I’m not a fast runner. I run like a lit-tle old lady,” she said. “But it’s all about taking careof yourself.”

‘She turned every stone for me’JungHenson met Dan McFadden after the Red-

mond resident returned from a trip to the Amazonlast fall.

The neurologist soon confronted a medical mystery.The cause behind McFadden’s inexplicable pain, tin-gling extremities and rash remained elusive, butJungHenson persevered.

“That jungle is a Petri dish for strange, littlepathogens that they may not even test for. She’s reallyhad to search high and low, and has done all kinds oftests on me to look for it,” he said. “We know it’sthere, because of the symptoms. We just can’t findthe cause of it. She hasn’t given up. She hasn’t said,‘Well, that’s all I can do.’”

McFadden initially assumed a chigger bite causedthe strange symptoms, but the trigger is still un-known. The search for a diagnosis prompted

JungHenson to reach out to other specialists. “She turned every stone for me from a neurological

perspective, but also worked to get me in to see aninfectious disease doctor and is now taking a look atother possible causes,” he said.

The effort also represents collaboration betweendoctor and patient.

“I think of the patient-physician interaction as be-ing a place where we figure out what’s going on,come up with a medical explanation for what’s hap-pening and then coming up with a plan that I’m com-fortable with but, more importantly, what the pa-tient’s comfortable with,” JungHenson said.

Excelling in ‘a difficult specialty’Such challenges led JungHenson to consider a ca-

reer in neurology and specialize in MS. Neurology is

a complicated field, and she also treats dementia, en-cephalopathy and stroke patients.

“My first very patient in my neurology rotation as amedical resident at Northwestern University inChicago was a multiple sclerosis patient,” she re-called.

Then, little more than 20 years ago, MS diagnosesrepresented a worst-case scenario. No Food andDrug Administration-approved treatments for the dis-ease existed.

“Neurology is a difficult specialty. The whole gist ofwhat we do is, we figure out where the problem is,where the lesion is. In multiple sclerosis, because youhave multiple lesions, it becomes very, very compli-cated,” JungHenson said. “As a young medical stu-dent trying to learn neurology, I was totally over-whelmed by this patient. It really was a very hard pa-tient for me to figure out and learn how to take careof.”

The options later expanded for MS patients. Nowa-days, physicians can offer eight FDA-approved thera-pies for the disease. Even as treatments entered themarketplace, nothing can substitute for patient em-powerment and knowledge — tenets JungHenson ad-vocates to patients.

“I take care of some very amazing people who, de-spite their disability, have really conquered their dis-ease mentally,” she said. “I get a lot of motivation andinspiration from my patients.”

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or [email protected] at www.issaquahpress.com.

ChiefFROM PAGE C1

MEET SOME TOP DOCS AT SWEDISH/ISSAQUAH

Dr. John Milne

Dr. Mike Purdon

Dr. Linnea Peterson

Dr. John Milne, vice presidentof medical affairs forSwedish/Issaquah and theemergency and ambulatory carecenters in Redmond and MillCreek, shaped the Issaquahhospital as Swedish’s medicaldirector for strategic develop-ment on the Eastside.

Dr. Linnea Peterson special-izes in voice and swallowingdisorders. The otolaryngologist— or ear, nose and throat physi-cian for the uninitiated —serves patients at the clinicnear Lake Sammamish untilrelocating to Swedish/Issaquahfor opening day.

Dr. Mike Purdon, a familypractitioner, already servesIssaquah patients at the existingclinic. The role requires broadknowledge, and Purdon is readyto help patients tackle high cho-lesterol or sleep apnea, orchronic diseases, such as dia-betes.

The Issaquah Press Wednesday, July 6, 2011 • C7

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HOSPITAL IS BRANDED BY DESIGNOutside the main entrance to Swedish/Issaquah, look skyward.The curved roof atop the atrium is a deliberate design nod to the arc Swedish Medical Center uses in

branding and promotional materials. The arc carried throughout the hospital’s materials is indicative ofthe trajectory of a patient’s care, from the admission to diagnosis and, hopefully, healing.

Seattle firm CollinsWoerman, lead architects on the hospital project, incorporated the arc into the façade.“We felt the swooping concave ceiling made both a good resolution to the height difference between

the north and south sides of the Commons, and that it was a subtle reference to the ‘Swedish arc,’”CollinsWoerman Senior Associate James Walker said. “We also used the arc shape in planning the northfaçade of the medical office building and in the overall plan geometry of the commons.”

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ISSAQUAH HIGHLANDS

By Warren KagariseIssaquah Press reporter

Long before dignitaries gathered onwindswept Grand Ridge on a cold Octo-ber day to dip shovels into soil for aSwedish Medical Center campus in Is-saquah, hospital executives asked com-munity members to shape the facility.

The hospital system turned to a formerIssaquah School District superintendent

to lead the group,and enlisted acommunity crosssection — 20 or somedical profes-sionals, elected of-ficials, communityleaders, senior cit-izens and youngparents — toserve.

The groupshaped the hospi-tal in the monthsbefore the October2009 ground-breaking cere-mony and contin-ues to advise exec-utives aboutSwedish/Issaquah.

“We wereclearly lookingfor people whowere not afraidto express theiropinion, who

were not afraid to tell us we were allwet and wrong,” said Dr. John Milne,vice president of medical affairs forSwedish/Issaquah and the emergencyand ambulatory care centers in Red-mond and Mill Creek. “We didn’t hand-pick people because they were going tobe yes people.”

Former Superintendent Janet Barry, a

Sammamish resident and Community Ad-visory Committee leader, said the grouptackled a paramount question early on:“How do people fit into this building?”

Members emphasized modern technol-ogy for the hospital, but also advocatedfor softer touches, such as ample artworkand natural light. (Both features factorprominently into the completed hospitalcampus.)

“They always said, ‘Yes! We want high-tech, but not at the expense of that hu-man warmth that makes people feel wel-come and makes them feel that they’re ina highly personal place,’” Barry said.

Committee members said Swedish/Is-saquah represents a key economic devel-opment component for the community.

“There’s no other community the sizeof our Issaquah-Sammamish communitythat doesn’t have a first-rate hospital fa-cility. It’s been the missing piece,” Barrysaid. “You know that I believe we have aworld-class school district, and I thinkthis health-care dimension of our com-munity life has been the missing piece.I’m thrilled that that’s going to be there.”

Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger said theoutreach effort ensured that the hospitalplanning phase addressed communityconcerns.

“It was what certainly I, as mayor, andI would believe any of our policymakerswould want to see with a major agency ororganization that came into the commu-nity,” she said. “They made an effort veryearly on, when it was pretty evident thatthey were going to be here, that theywanted to have a group of communitymembers as an advisory council.”

Phil Dyer, a former 5th Legislative Dis-trict lawmaker and health-care expert,lauded hospital executives for the atten-tion lavished on the community group.

“The Swedish people were bendingover backwards to make sure that the de-sign process really fit the needs of the

community. I, frankly, had not seen sucha thing. I’ve been involved in health carefor more than 30 years, and I’ve neverseen a large, institutional health care sys-tem take that much interest in designingand facilitating the community’s inter-ests,” he said. “It was clear that theywere listening to everything we said.”

The hospital also held town-hall-stylemeetings in Issaquah and Sammamish toask residents about possible features forthe facility.

“The best part of it was that Swedishlistened and incorporated those ideas intothe final hospital,” said Joan Probala, acommittee member and Issaquah real es-tate agent. “They actually went out to thecommunity, they asked what patients,what people wanted to expect when theygot to the hospital, and they incorporatedit into it.”

Though the hospital is complete,Swedish holds a long-term lease on abuilding along Northwest SammamishRoad for a standalone emergency roomand medical offices. Milne said hospitalleaders plan to ask Community AdvisoryCommittee members about uses for theER space after the facility relocates toSwedish/Issaquah on July 14.

Committee members also understoodhow the hospital could change behavioramong Issaquah patients accustomed totraveling to Bellevue or Seattle for healthcare.

“This community has developed its pat-terns over long years. Where do they goto get health-care services?” Barry said.“It’s going to invite new patterns. That’sgoing to take a little bit of time, but Ithink the Swedish reputation will be sig-nificant in helping people to find theirnew patterns.”

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or [email protected]. Comment at www.issaquah-press.com.

Issaquah community membersinfluence hospital design

[ ]“The Swedish people were bending overbackwards to make sure that the designprocess really fit the needs of the commu-nity. I, frankly, had not seen such a thing.”PHIL DYERCommunity Advisory Committee memberand former 5th District lawmaker

Above: Kevin Brown (left),Swedish senior vice president

and chief administrative officer,welcomes state, regional andlocal officials, hospital board

members and executives to thegroundbreaking. At right:

Judd Kirk, of Port BlakelyCommunities, Mayor Ava

Frisinger, Swedish Hospital CEODr. Rod Hochman and Gov.

Chris Gregoire (from left) chatafter the Swedish/Issaquahgroundbreaking ceremony in

October 2009.

PHOTOS BY GREG FARRAR

Swedish/Issaquah employees arrivefor work in the new highlands hospitalbefore the July 14 opening.

C8 • Wednesday, July 6, 2011 The Issaquah Press

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Zoe Shih, ARNP • Annie Pinyero, ARNP

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