According to a Burien City Manager’s report, “Group Health corporate is planning a $24 million expansion of (the) Burien Clinic … Group Health plans to transform patient care at the new Burien Medical Center through an innovative design approach they call Production Preparation Process. The new center is expected to have a professional staff of 75 and serve up to 15,000 patients a year in Burien. Ground breaking is anticipated mid 2013.”

Burien Economic Development Manager Dick Loman has been appointed to a Group Health Study Advisory Committee “comprised of 25 senior Group health officials, medical personnel and local supporters.”

Group Health Senior Media Consultant Katie McCarthy told the Highline Times the project is in an early planning stage at this time and more specifics will be available in early June.

McCarthy added it is uncertain at this time whether the new clinic will be built at the current location (140 s.w. 146th St) or if they will have to relocate for more space.

Dick Loman, who recently learned of his appointment to the advisory committee, said “the committee is basically being formed to help Group Health in some fund raising to the extent of about $4 million (of the $24 million project). The last $4 million is basically for community outreach extras they want to include in the basic structure of the building.”

“They (Group Health) have the $20 million in the bank that’s been committed to the Burien project,” he said.

The planned expansion for Group Health is just the latest in a string of expansions for the “Burien medical service cluster” (including Group Health, Highline Medical Center, Navos Mental Health Solutions, Schick Shadel Hospital and a number of nursing homes), according to Loman.

“Group Health is a very important and a very supportive member of the Burien medical service cluster that we have here. The biggest provider of family wage jobs that we have in the city are our medical service people,” he said.

“We are very fortunate to have these folks here, we are very fortunate to be in a growth industry that’s supplying family wage jobs which is what we want here. In addition, they are very supportive of our educational system which is what the cluster is all about – it’s about creating jobs and working with our educational system to produce kids that have the skills right here in Burien to go on and have careers in medical service.”

Back to the Group Health expansion, Loman said, “We are delighted that they have chosen Burien in which to expand and we want to help in any way that we can.”

To learn more about the Group Health Cooperative please check out their website found here.