St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale has opened a new 74-bed patient tower, which aims to provide additional capacity and relieve the busy emergency department, and improve access to specialty care.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, which owns and operates SMMC, is opening the new tower in stages, with the first unit of 18 beds opening Dec. 10, followed by unit two, scheduled to open Dec. 16, which also includes 18 beds. The remaining units are slated to open in 2026, VMFH spokesperson Nandi Butcher said.

“We have proudly served Kitsap County for more than 100 years, and our commitment to expand access to care is stronger than ever,” said SMMC president Chad Melton. “The new tower will bring even more services to patients, ease demand on our emergency department, and create more job opportunities for local residents. I couldn’t be more proud of the team for bringing this vision to life and building a stronger foundation for our next 100 years.”

SMMC is a Level III Trauma Center that provides specialty care services as well as a comprehensive cancer care center. The new tower will create roughly 65 new jobs and 10 new physicians. SMMC anticipates the new tower will support the growth of specialties such as spine surgery, orthopedics, OB-GYN, cardiology, Gastroenterology, and cancer care, per a news release.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000, the union that represents nursing staff at SMMC, doesn’t have a specific breakdown of nurses working in the new tower; however, the union represents 931 nurses at SMMC, UFCW3000 spokesperson Rich Smith confirmed via email.