The board and administration of Willapa Harbor Hospital heard from voters that we did not provide enough information about options for retrofit (bringing up to code) the current hospital campus, and options to replace the hospital and clinic facilities on our current site. Consequently, we again consulted with experts who have years of experience in design and construction of medical facilities.

We have looked carefully at the option of retrofitting the current facility.

Please note: The original estimate to retrofit or “bring up to code” the current facility of $20 million to $30 million was based on:

• Estimates made in 2021. Construction costs rose 19% in 2021; 12% in 2022; 4% in 2023; and are estimated to rise 5% in 2024.

• The estimate was only for reconstruction of the oldest building and did not include Willapa Medical Clinic and other necessary outbuildings.

• The 2021 estimate did not include lost revenue due to service closures and phased construction.

• The estimate also did not include necessary staff furloughs or layoffs due to phased service closures.

• Finally, the estimate assumed the use of the Alder House property, which has since been sold to the Pacific County Housing Authority and will become senior low-income housing. (We found that the original construction of Alder House used Department of Commerce funds that required a 50-year covenant for senior housing use.)

One option is to “retrofit” or bring the current facility up to state and national code requirements. This would address the failing infrastructure of the oldest building on the campus and bring other buildings to current code compliance.

A second option is to replace the facility on the current site. Like building the replacement on a new site, this would add some needed patient service space.

The third option is to construct a newly designed building on the Delaware Avenue property.

The Board of Willapa Harbor Hospital, Pacific County Hospital District #2, is carefully considering all these options. We will continue to gather your input and share information as we review these options. Over the next few weeks, we will share findings for each of these options.

We will be holding several community meetings in the future to review each of these options with the public. Stay tuned for meeting locations and dates. Our priority is to assure that high quality, modern, health care remains available to North Pacific County for generations.

PACIFIC COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT #2 BOARD

Kathy Spoor, RN, Chair

Dr. Jeffrey Nevitt, Vice Chair

Toni Williams, Secretary

Gary Schwiesow

Steve Holland, Ed.D.