MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare will begin treating patients at its new hospital campus at 7 a.m. Saturday, March 7, marking the opening of a $225 million facility designed to expand emergency, surgical and specialty care for the growing Columbia Basin region.
The three-story replacement hospital, located at 2000 S. Clover Drive was built on a 55-acre campus and is designed to support the region’s long-term population growth and expanding medical needs.
The project includes about 174,000 square feet of medical space, housing outpatient services such as laboratory, imaging, rehabilitation and therapy on the ground floor. Obstetrics and surgical departments are located on the second floor, while acute care and intensive care units occupy the third floor.
Although the hospital will maintain 50 inpatient beds, the same number as the current facility, the new design significantly increases treatment capacity through larger departments, modern technology and space for future expansion.
Years of planning and construction
Planning for a replacement hospital began nearly a decade ago as Samaritan Healthcare evaluated the long-term needs of Moses Lake and surrounding communities.
Hospital leaders began formally studying the need for a new facility in 2016, after determining the existing campus had limited room for expansion and aging infrastructure.
The project advanced in 2018, when the hospital district began developing plans for a new medical campus. Progress slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid rising construction costs before moving forward again.
Voters in Grant County Public Hospital District No. 1 approved a $130 million bond in April 2023, helping fund the $225 million project.
Construction began later in 2023 and continued through 2025 and early 2026, culminating in the hospital’s opening this weekend.
Expanded emergency and surgical services
According to Samaritan Healthcare CEO Theresa Sullivan, one of the most significant improvements in the new hospital is its expanded emergency department.
“I would say one of the big pieces has to do with our emergency department,” Sullivan told Source ONE News in an interview. “Currently, it’s not that we don’t provide those emergency department services, but it’s so small. We have about 26,000 emergency department visits a year, and a lot of times we’ve had beds in the hallway.”
The new emergency department is about twice the size of the existing one and includes additional treatment areas and improved patient flow.
The hospital will also expand surgical capabilities.
“Our surgery department and the expansion to our surgery department is a really big deal,” Sullivan said. “Now we will have six operating rooms, five that will be operational right away and one for future expansion.”
The facility will also support advanced surgical technology.
“Today we only have four operating rooms, and not all of them can accommodate our Da Vinci robots,” she said. “Now we will have five rooms that can accommodate the Da Vinci robot along with larger surgeries like orthopedic procedures.”
Other improvements include a dedicated infusion treatment area, expanded imaging services and additional patient care space.
Preparing for regional demand
Sullivan said the new hospital positions Samaritan Healthcare to continue expanding its role as a regional health care provider.
“Samaritan has really continued to grow into the regional health care organization already, and this really positions us for that to continue,” she said.
She emphasized that rural hospitals in nearby communities remain vital, but the new hospital ensures higher levels of care are available locally.
“Our goal is for those hospitals to remain stable and healthy,” Sullivan said. “But if their patients need higher levels of care, we’re here to provide those services.”
The new campus also allows for long-term growth. The previous hospital operated on about 11 acres, while the new site provides 55 acres with space designed for expansion.
“I truly believe there’s going to be a need for expansion sooner,” Sullivan said. “Twenty years without expansion in a community growing as quickly as Moses Lake is a long time.”
Future expansion could include additional patient rooms, larger emergency department space and expanded imaging services.
One of the first expected developments is a family medicine residency program through a partnership with Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, aimed at training physicians to practice in rural Washington.
Community support
Sullivan said the project would not have been possible without voter support.
“The big thing that I would say to our community is thank you,” she said. “This project would not be possible without the voters of our hospital district overwhelmingly voting yes to pay for a portion of this new hospital.”
Samaritan officials say the new facility represents one of the largest health care investments in the Columbia Basin in recent years, designed to expand services and keep more patients in the region for care.
The first patients are expected to arrive when the hospital officially opens Saturday morning at 7 a.m..
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