I
n early March 2016, the Kittitas Valley Healthcare (KVH)
Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a plan
for the future of the KVH campus. The work to update
the healthcare campus will be done in two phases.
Phase 1 will be a new medical office building. Phase 2, which could begin three
to five years after phase 1 is complete, will address the aging hospital facilities.
Why does KVH need to update its facilities?
Several of the buildings on the KVH campus are recommended to be demolished
and replaced. This includes a number of the medical clinic buildings and the original
wood-frame areas of the hospital.
A new medical office building will bring the KVH clinics and outpatient services
on the main campus together under one roof.
A decision from the Board on whether construction should proceed with phase 1
may come as early as September 2016, with a fully functioning medical office
building completed as early as mid-2018.
Why does the proposal keep KVH in its current location?
The cost is significantly less for the campus to stay where it is. The entire project
is estimated to cost $72 million in the current location. Moving the campus would
add at least $50 million (at least $122 million total to move).
The community has already invested in its hospital through property taxes.
Though some areas of the hospital need to be replaced, other areas of the hospital
are in excellent condition and can be retained.
How much will the project cost? How will it be paid for?
The medical office building (phase 1) will be financed entirely by KVH
through
borrowing and reserves
. This portion of the project is estimated to cost $17 million.
Upgrades and updates to the hospital (phase 2) are expected to cost about
$55 million. This phase would require support from residents of Kittitas County
Public Hospital District No. 1 through a bond levy. Voters may see a proposal for
a bond levy within five to eight years.
How will the community be involved in planning?
KVH is working on planning for phase 1 this year. Earlier this year, we launched a
community survey. We also held focus groups with community participants and
conducted in-depth surveys with our clinic patients.
We expect that we will be ready to share our initial plans with the community
in a cardboard mock-up as early as this summer. We’ll be looking for volunteers—
including ones with strollers, walkers and wheelchairs—to walk through the
life-size building model.
Master site facility plan for
Kittitas Valley Healthcare,
showing proposed construction
of phases 1 and 2.
Y O U R H O M E F O R H E A L T H
●
S U M M E R 2 0 1 6
TWO
HEARTS FOR
HEALTHCARE
Meet a couple whose
passion for helping
people makes KVH
their second home.
SEE PAGE 3
HEALTH
Currents
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U.S. Postage
PAID
Walla Walla, WA
Permit No. 44
603 S. Chestnut St.
Ellensburg, WA 98926
Rebuilding in our community
Move forward
with us!
Look for oppor tun i t i es
to par ticipate and learn
more about our plans at
kvhealthcare.org/project.
If you’d like someone to
speak at your local business,
service group or another
setting, please contact us
by phone,
509-933-7593
,
o r ema i l ,
que s t i ons@
kvhealthcare.org
.
If you have a question
or would like to sign up for
email notifications with project
updates, please email us at
questions@kvhealthcare
.org
. You can also connect with
KVH on Facebook and Twitter.
HOBERT STREET