Company Profile
Overlake Hospital Medical Center
Company Overview
Founded on the principles of equality and care, Overlake Hospital is a 337 licensed bed, not-for-profit regional medical center offering a full range of advanced medical services to the greater Seattle area. As a medium-sized hospital, we are a major player in the local healthcare market, yet we haven’t lost our friendly feel.
Overlake is distinguished for its cardiac services and award winning surgical services. In March 2011, we received the HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for the fourth consecutive year, ranking us among the top 5 percent of U.S. hospitals for overall patient safety. We have been ranked as a top 100 heart program in the country and are rated as a top performer in the state of Washington. We have received many awards and recognitions both regionally and nationally. In 2010 alone we were the recipient of the following:
- 2010 - King County Best Workplace for Recycling and Waste Reduction (Best Workplace)
- 2010 - HealthGrades® Patient Safety Excellence Award™
- 2010 - Received the Get With the Guidelines - Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association
- 2010 - Recognized by Regence BlueShield as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement
Overlake is located in Bellevue, a beautiful suburb just east of Seattle. Surrounded by natural beauty – trees, mountains, lakes, rivers and the ocean – the greater Seattle region is one of America’s most livable areas. Come enjoy the best of both worlds~cultural and night life activities in the city, and skiing, hiking, and boating in the great outdoors!
Company History
Overlake opened on October 16, 1960 with 56 beds. Today, it's a medical center with more than 337 beds. Distinguished for its cardiac, surgical, cancer and women's services, Overlake treats more than 56,000 emergency patients, 243,000 outpatients, and 17,000 inpatients each year, while welcoming more than 4,000 babies into the world. The Overlake team includes approximately 2,300 employees, 875 physicians and over 500 volunteers.
Overlake's Story
The story begins in 1951, when the U.S. Department of Health concluded that Puget Sound-area hospitals were inadequate. Concentrated in Seattle, there was only one floating bridge at that time and, if it happened to be open to let a boat through, one would have to wait to drive over the bridge to reach a hospital.
Meta Burrows, owner and founder of the Lakeside Drugstore chain and a charter trustee, didn't need a government survey to convince her the Eastside needed its own hospital. "My mother-in-law died of a bleeding ulcer in an ambulance on the way to a Seattle hospital," she said, "so I knew we needed a hospital in Bellevue. The board had no money, and we had no location to begin with, but we persevered. We knew what we wanted, so we all pitched in."
In 1953, the founders formed the Overlake Memorial Hospital Association, determined to raise money for a community hospital, find a site and build it.
Lorraine Weltzien and a group of her neighbors in Clyde Hill formed the first Auxiliary, named Fabiola for the Roman woman credited with founding the first public hospital in Western Europe.
"We all had young children then. It was terribly important to have that hospital," Lorraine said. "We worked to raise money! We went door-to-door asking for contributions. We sold everything imaginable."
It was work, no doubt, but it was also fun. The annual "Hospitalities" stage shows offered an evening's entertainment. There was a "Contagious Cotillion" in 1955. In 1956, people were invited to purchase a "quit claim deed" to one square inch of land for the hospital for $1. Those who insisted on getting a piece of land for their $1 were given a tiny sack containing one carefully measured square inch of dirt. Two young brothers in Clyde Hill, Roger and Walter Day, offered kittens for sale, proceeds to go to the building fund.
What If?
The hospital founders were determined that Overlake should be a voluntary, not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, not supported by taxes. Any profits from fees for services should be invested back in the hospital, and it should be open to everyone.
The government did play a role in the hospital's establishment, however. Congress had passed the Hill Burton Act, which allocated money to local hospitals in growing areas. The community had to own the land and come up with 60 percent of the money to build the hospital; Hill Burton funds would provide the rest. The Overlake Memorial Hospital Association was buying land in the Lake Hills area of Bellevue, but to qualify for Hill Burton funds, the land had to be owned outright. The deadline for appropriations was fast approaching.
Don McAusland had an idea. There was property available between 116th Avenue NE and Highway 1 (now I-405) north of NE 8th Street. Water, power, and sewer lines were in place or readily available, and the state was building a new interchange at NE 8th Street, so the site would be easily accessible by automobile or ambulance. What if, McAusland thought, local businessmen and physicians bought the property, and donated most of it to the hospital association?
"What if" turned out to be Overlake Memorial Hospital. "I optioned four pieces of property and sold them to Kemper Freeman and a group of physicians. The condition was that they give three-quarters of the property to the hospital," said McAusland.
Neighbor Taking Care of Neighbor
Overlake is part of the community it serves. From the very start, Overlake has been a labor of love. Conceived by the community it would serve, Overlake has been led, supported and sustained by its community. But Overlake isn't just buildings, or even state-of-the-art technology. It has always been, and always will be a neighborhood hospital taking care of its neighbors.
Benefits
We offer excellent benefits including management incentive plan, management relocation assistance, medical/dental/vision, generous PTO accrual (sick/vacation/holidays), a bank of Extended Illness Hours, flexible spending accounts, excellent retirement plan with 100% matching employer contribution, long-term disability insurance, free parking, employee discounts, and more.