To mark a half-century of health care service to the community and the groundbreaking for Swedish Edmonds’ largest expansion in 40 years, the community is invited to a celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 10 from 4-6 p.m. The celebration will take place on the east side of the hospital, the future site of a $63.5 million expansion to the existing hospital campus.

Celebration activities will include:

– Groundbreaking ceremony for the planned hospital expansion — a two-story, 77,000-square-foot facility that will include a new emergency department (ED), urgent care, observation unit, outpatient diagnostic imaging center, new lobby, public space, 37,000-square-foot shelled second floor and more.
-Time capsule dedication and hall of history display acknowledging the hospital’s 50-year history and achievements over the decades.
– Refreshments.

“The hospital first opened its doors in January 1964 and that year we admitted about 3,400 patients and cared for 4,200 patients in our ED,” said David Jaffe, chief executive at Swedish Edmonds, in an announcement Friday. “Today, Swedish Edmonds cares for more than 8,600 admitted patients and nearly 45,000 ED patients each year. We’ve grown tremendously over the years and our hospital expansion will help us continue to meet the growing needs of our community for many decades to come.”

Site preparation is already under way for the hospital expansion project with completion of the new ED, urgent care center, new lobby, public space and new front entry anticipated to take place fall 2015. The outpatient diagnostic imaging center and observation unit are scheduled for completion in February 2016. To learn more about the expansion and see renderings of the new facility, visit www.swedish.org/EdmondsExpansion.