Samaritan commissioners to choose architect
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Consultant Joe Kunkel said Samaritan Hospital commissioners could have a recommendation by Nov. 26 on an architectural firm to help determine whether or not the district can build a new hospital.
MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare commissioners are scheduled to meet Nov. 26 to select an architectural firm to help determine whether or not to build a new hospital.
Consultant Joe Kunkel said five companies have applied, and the selection committee will recommend two or three options to commissioners. Kunkel outlined some of the things committee members are looking for during the regular commission meeting Tuesday.
Samaritan officials announced Oct. 2 they would be studying the possibility of a new hospital. Hospital officials have taken an option on land at the intersection of Yonezawa Boulevard and Central Avenue, across the street from land purchased by Confluence Health.
Samaritan officials hired consultants to determine if a new hospital could be built without going to hospital district voters for a construction bond. The tentative answer was yes but was based, said consultant John Dao, on “very preliminary numbers.”
Total project cost was estimated at a minimum of $100 million. Hospital officials have looked at other options, including remodeling the existing hospital or building a new hospital on the existing site. But in either case, the cost is at least – or more than – $100 million.
The architects will help hospital officials determine if the project is feasible. “We’ll start with a master plan of the site,” Kunkel said – and the master plan should cover the whole site. “What you should do, if you do it correctly, is you think about fully developing the site, and you work backwards.” That makes it easier to accommodate expansion when it comes, he said.
The new hospital, if it’s built, will have room for about 50 patients. In terms of hospitals that’s not very big, Kunkel said, but building any hospital is complicated job. “We do want firms who are used to doing projects of this size and complexity.”
Committee members also are looking for a company that takes advantage of its experience and what it’s learned, good and bad, Kunkel said. Another consideration is an architectural firm that will incorporate design ideas that take patients and staff into account.