OLYMPIA – The Department of Social and Health Services has purchased a facility previously known as Paramount Rehabilitation and Nursing for $13.5 million. The nursing home, located in Seattle’s Central District, was closed in February. It will house as many as 165 patients from local hospitals who test negative for COVID-19 and can receive the level of care they need in a long-term care setting. DSHS transitioned nearly 400 patients out of hospitals across Washington and into nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult family homes or other settings of their choice in March.
“Increasing hospital bed capacity is crucial during this crisis,” said Aging and Long-Term Support Administration Assistant Secretary Bill Moss. “We are committed to ensuring these patients continue to receive quality care, while at the same time helping to relieve some of the strain on hospitals and health care workers on the front lines.”
DSHS is now working to find a provider to operate the facility and hopes to have it reopened by early May. There will be an estimated 100 job openings for administrators, health care workers, cooks, dishwashers, servers, landscapers, painters, carpenters and other positions.