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Franciscan Inpatient Team

Evan Coates, MD

Market Director, Hospital Medicine
Evan Coates, MD

Ishmael Ching, MD

Associate Director, Hospital Medicine
Ishmael (Miles) Ching, MD

The Franciscan Inpatient Team (FIT) is a well-established hospital medicine group, which started in the early 1990s as a group of six providers at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. Since then, we have grown to a team of more than 150 providers, serving patients at six hospitals in three counties. Our services have grown, and now include virtual medicine, a hospital at home program, and the perioperative surgical home.

Our team specializes in the care of acutely ill adults. We collaborate with your multi-disciplinary team to coordinate all hospital-based treatments and a safe discharge plan. We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality, integrated, evidenced-based care with compassion and excellence in the communities we serve. It is a privilege to partner with our patients and their families to provide patient centered care when it matters most.

Franciscan Inpatient Team Hospitalists

Our locations

  • St. Anne Hospital
    16251 Sylvester Rd. S.W.
    Burien, WA 98166
    206-244-9970

    St. Anne Hospital is a community hospital serving Burien. It is our newest Franciscan Inpatient Team (FIT) location, joining in 2020. Some of our FIT providers are clinical teaching faculty and host medical students periodically.

    Site Director: Sudeep Kommidi, MD

    Sudeep Kommidi, MD

         

  • St. Anthony Hospital
    11567 Canterwood Boulevard Northwest
    Gig Harbor, WA 98332
    253-530-2000

    St. Anthony Hospital is a community hospital serving Gig Harbor. FIT joined the hospital team when it opened in 2009.

    Site Director: Edwin Coe, MD

    Edwin Coe, MD

         

  • St. Clare Hospital
    11315 Bridgeport Way Southwest
    Lakewood, WA 98499
    253-985-1711

    St. Clare Hospital is a community hospital serving Lakewood. St. Clare welcomed FIT with the formal launch of the program in 1997. Some of our St. Clare FIT providers are clinical teaching faculty and host medical students periodically. Additionally, St. Clare Hospital was the first facility to host a perioperative surgical home clinic, and continues to do so.

    Site Director: Chitralekha Pasupuleti, MD

    Chitralekha Pasupuleti, MD

         

  • St. Elizabeth Hospital
    1455 Battersby Avenue
    Enumclaw, WA 98022
    360-802-8800

    St. Elizabeth is our critical access facility, serving Enumclaw and the surrounding community. FIT has been a part of the Enumclaw community since 2007.

    Site Director: Jun-Beom Kwon, MD

    Jun-Beom Kwon, MD

         

  • St. Francis Hospital
    34515 Ninth Avenue South
    Federal Way, WA 98003
    253-944-8100

    St. Francis Hospital is a community hospital serving Federal Way. St. Francis welcomed FIT with the formal launch of the program in 1997. Some of our St. Francis FIT providers are clinical teaching faculty and host medical students periodically.

    Site Director: Amit Desai, DO

    Amit Desai, DO

         

  • St. Joseph Medical Center
    1717 South J Street
    Tacoma, WA 98405
    253-426-4101

    St. Joseph Medical Center is our largest and longest operating hospital. It is a tertiary referral center, offering the full complement of medical services and specialty care. Foundational work to start our practice began at St. Joseph in 1994, and formally launched as FIT in 1997. FIT operates a perioperative surgical home clinic here, and will host our hospital at home program from this site. In July 2023, we anticipate the arrival of our first class of internal medicine residents, and we are already hosting medical students from various programs at St. Joseph Medical Center.

    Site Director: Megha Shah, MD

    Megha Shah, MD

         

Specialized services

Ishmael Ching, MD

Virtual Franciscan Inpatient Team: 

The Virtual Franciscan Inpatient Team provides uninterrupted access to remote hospital medicine expertise at night. This service provides an extra layer of safety and availability during your stay. Responding to your needs, through your attentive nurse, and monitoring you as you sleep to recover from your ailments.

Medical Director: Ishmael (Miles) Ching, MD

    

Mohamed Imam, MD

Perioperative Surgical Home: 

The Perioperative Surgical Home is a clinic with specially-trained hospitalists who will work with you to optimize your health prior to your surgery. The Perioperative Surgical Home treats conditions such as obesity, anemia, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, sleep apnea, and others so that you are in the best condition possible for surgery. The team provides a comprehensive evaluation with customized treatments to reduce your risk of any complications or additional problems after surgery. We collaborate closely with you and your surgeon to make sure you have the best outcomes possible.

Medical Director: Mohamed Imam, MD    

    

Lenora Ivanek, PA-C

Advanced Practice Providers:

The Franciscan Inpatient Team currently includes more than 30 Advance Practice Providers (APPs). These board certified ARNPs and PAs bring a broad range of clinical experience and expertise to the team. Working with our physicians is an integral part of our collaborative patient care. FIT APPs work in all of our hospitals and associated programs such as the perioperative home and VFIT, and are key contributors to many of our quality improvement measures. The Franciscan Inpatient Team has been a leader in the advancement of APPs in hospital medicine, playing a valuable role since the team’s founding in 1999.

Director: Lenora Ivanek, PA-C

    

Megha Shah, MD

Hospital at Home:

The Franciscan Inpatient Team is excited to partner with Contessa Health to start a new Home Recovery Care Program, the hospital at home program. This novel program provides an acute, inpatient level of care to patients, in the comfort of their home, allowing them to be in their familiar environment with their loved ones while they are healing. Eligible patients who are referred to this program will have a virtual visit with the hospitalist and will receive nursing care from experienced nurses at least twice daily while admitted to the hospital at home. This collaborative team will deliver expert care to your door step until you are able to attend appointments with your regular providers.

Medical Director: Megha Shah, MD