Optum is building a new facility in Tacoma, Washington as the company continues to expand services within the state.
The Puget Sound Business Journal reported Oct. 17 that the UnitedHealth Group company has filed documents for an 8,700-square-foot project within a three-story office building currently under construction. The $3.5 million Optum project is expected to start early next year, though it is unclear what the facility will house.
In Washington, Optum operates The Everett Clinic and The Polyclinic, which it purchased in 2017 and 2019, respectively. The two clinics will be rebranded to Optum in April 2024 and outfitted with new digital services, including on-demand video visits, anytime electronic visits, open scheduling and electronic consults. Patients will also have access to Symptom Smart, which allows them to enter symptoms and receive personalized care recommendations based on the patient's medical records.
Optum has more than 500 locations in Washington and serves around 330,000 patients, according to Herald Net. The practices have a variety of specialty services, mental health services and home care offerings.
In July, Tacoma-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health said it would partner with Optum to make Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle the preferred acute care provider for Optum's Polyclinic patients. The Polyclinic will also assume management of VMFH's 25,000 Medicare Advantage patients.
The expansion comes on the heels of recent layoffs at Optum. In August, multiple directors, regional vice presidents and senior managers posted on LinkedIn that they were let go as part of a workforce reduction; among them was the director of operations for Optum in Washington and 67 employees from Everett Clinic and Polyclinic.