‘Now let’s go dig some dirt’

MOSES LAKE — With the shovels in the ground, the hard hats ready and construction equipment on site, Samaritan Healthcare Chief Executive Officer Theresa Sullivan said there were times she wondered if the construction of a new Samaritan Hospital would get this far.

“As many of you know, there were days when I wondered, is this really going to happen? Are we really going to have a groundbreaking?” Sullivan said during the groundbreaking ceremony Friday. “In fact, some of you know I didn’t really want to answer the question any more (about) when are we going to break ground, because I was wrong 100% of the time.”

Almost five years after Samaritan commissioners approved the project, three years after it was deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after significantly increased costs forced a delay in 2022, commissioners turned over the first ceremonial shovels of dirt Friday.

“A great day for the community,” said Alan White, who was one of the commissioners who voted to build a new hospital in October 2018.

“We can’t wait for this to be up and running and have it open to the public and available for amazing healthcare in our local area,” said Commissioner Susan Carbon.

Hospital district voters approved a $130 million construction bond in April, and Sullivan said that vote was crucial to the project.

“This new hospital … would not be possible without the overwhelming support that we received from you,” Sullivan said. “Without the tax support, we would not be here today.”

Commission chair Kathryn Christian also thanked district patrons for their support of the bond and the project.

“You’ve been and continue to be a vital part of this project,” Christian said.

The hospital project also received a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, $8.4 million in state funding and $2.5 million in federal funding for the building and some equipment. Sullivan gave credit to U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Fourth District Representative Dan Newhouse for their help in obtaining the federal money. The help of 13th District Senator Judy Warnick and 13th District Representatives Tom Den and Alex Ybarra was crucial in getting the state funding, Sullivan said. Other Eastern Washington legislators also provided important assistance, she said, as did the office of Gov. Jay Inslee. Warnick said the help of Ninth District Senator Mark Schoesler was particularly important.

Sullivan said the hospital district was founded in 1947, and has provided care to generations of Moses Lake residents. Warnick said her family was among them. A member of her husband’s family was born in the original hospital when it was on the site now occupied by the Moses Lake Public Library. Her three daughters and two of her granddaughters were born at Samaritan. The hospital is the place the family has gone for care throughout their lives.

“We had multiple trips to the ER while we were raising those children and grandchildren,” she said. “It’s been an important part of our family.”

Moses Lake and Grant County are growing, and the hospital will be able to grow with them, Warnick said.

“Samaritan is going to be ready to handle that new influx of people,” Warnick said. “We also will have a facility that should be able to attract and retain healthcare providers.”

Sullivan also gave credit to the Samaritan staff.

“I want to thank our Samaritan family, each and every person who works every day to serve our patients and the community.”

Site preparation was underway before the groundbreaking, and project manager Joe Kunkel said visible results will be coming soon.

“They will be starting to pour footings, probably next week,” Kunkel said Friday.

The construction fence is beginning to enclose the site, and it’s a big site.

“We have almost a mile of fence,” Kunkel said. “Five thousand linear feet of fence all around the site. It’s a big project in and of itself.”

Crews are working to start pouring the foundation as soon as possible.

“They’re going to dig the foundation, getting ready to pour concrete, because we want to get the concrete in the ground while it’s still warm,” Kunkel said.

People will see visible progress on the site in the form of the first-floor skeleton pretty quickly, he said.

“We’re going to be doing structural steel before year’s end,” Kunkel said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.