Capital Medical Center has turned 30. Founded in 1985 by a small group of physicians seeking to expand health care for women, the hospital today is that and much more.
Capital’s CEO, Jim Geist, says he is always surprised when he finds someone who is unaware that Capital Medical Center is a hospital. “It may come from the perception that a community hospital is less than full service,” he said. In fact, Capital is a full-service, accredited hospital and Level IV trauma facility providing critical 24-hour emergency care to residents of Southwest Washington.
Dr. Angela Bowen, a retired endocrinologist, was one of the founding physicians of the hospital. “I think it’s a friendlier place, not as big and busy and kind of impersonal as a much bigger hospital. The quality of doctors that practice at Capital makes me very comfortable. You can get most anything you need done there.”
Since 2005, Capital has invested over $32 million in new technologies and facilities. In keeping with its original mission, the hospital recently completed a $1.5 million renovation of its women’s services unit, including newly remodeled private birthing suites and an upgraded family waiting area. Slated to begin later this year is a $16.3 million expansion and renovation of the hospital’s surgical services department. That will include seven state-of-the-art operating suites to accommodate the rising demand from patients and to better meet the needs of surgeons.
In a nod to the hospital’s excellence, The Joint Commission, the nation’s leading health care accreditation organization, awarded its Gold Seal of Approval—one of the first in the state—to Capital’s Joint & Spine Center in 2013.
Capital Medical Center’s growing impact is widely felt in the community. Over the past five years, the hospital has provided more than $52 million in charity and uncompensated care, including nearly $375,000 in donations to community service organizations. One of those was the Olympia Free Clinic, which recently received a $3,500 donation from Capital and its employees after the hospital selected the clinic to receive the proceeds of a monthly “Jeans Day” campaign.
The hospital will mark its 30th anniversary with a variety of events during the year.
LEAH GROUT