Kaiser Permanente’s new stand-alone imaging facility is now open in central Vancouver.
The Kaiser Permanente Thurston Way Imaging Center, 4816 N.E. Thurston Way, Suite A, officially opened July 9 and is the first of its kind in the region. The stand-alone facility offers an array of diagnostic services, such as mammograms, ultrasounds and computed tomography scans.
Manager of Imaging Services Scot Thiesmeyer said the decision to expand was driven by the growing population in Clark County. The imaging center aims to reduce high patient volumes at other Kaiser Permanente medical offices.
“One of the things we’ve been having problems with is access, because our membership has grown so much,” Thiesmeyer said. “Trying to keep up with that has been difficult, but this location is nothing but imaging space. We’re really lucky to finally have the space that we need.”
In June, Kaiser acquired the Kaiser Permanente Salmon Creek Surgery Center, which had been an endoscopy center. The surgery center, 2415 N.E. 134th St., will provide colonoscopies and endoscopies.
Kaiser began the process of acquiring the imaging building near Vancouver Mall about a year ago, Thiesmeyer said.
The building — previously Radia Imaging Center — is completely dedicated to imaging services and will offer 3D mammography, diagnostic breast exams, CT scans and ultrasounds.
The team at the Thurston Way Imaging Center includes 10 staff members, with one radiologist. The acquisition and remodeling process cost just less than $5 million, Thiesmeyer said.
Thiesmeyer said Kaiser has been working to overcome barriers to access for some time, and the opening of this new center marks one step in expanding services for the Clark County community.
“Mammography has been so difficult for us to keep up on, especially as patients age into that mammography screening bracket,” Thiesmeyer said. “We’re really looking forward to seeing the relief that this center here is going to bring.”
Radiologist Michelle Rodgers has been with the health provider for 18 years and previously worked at the Kaiser Permanente Salmon Creek Medical Office. Rodgers said she is looking forward to ramping things up at the new center, which will also be able to conduct cancer staging and vascular studies and look for nonemergency findings in patients.
“We all kind of run on the same principle of doing the best that we can for our patients. I just like how integrated the care is here,” Rodgers said. “This will certainly take some of that pressure off the Salmon Creek office, alleviate that burden and decrease those wait times.”
Kaiser Permanente has six medical offices and two dental offices in Clark County. The health provider serves 105,665 members in the region and employs 1,384 staff members, including physicians, dentists and nurses.
This story has been updated with the correct services offered.
