PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Healthcare officials are taking input from the public on possible expansion that could entail a bond referendum of about $112.7 million.
Five online sessions exploring options for replacement of buildings and expansion of services are set for 1:30 p.m. Monday, 1:30 p.m. Thursday, 5:45 p.m. May 18; 11:30 a.m. May 23; and 5:45 p.m. May 26.
The meeting link and phone call-in information can be found on the Jefferson Healthcare website at www.jeffersonhealthcare.com/event/expansion.
Each meeting will be recorded and posted to the website for those unable to attend.
Each session will begin with a brief presentation about possible building improvements and replacement as well as service expansion priorities. The remainder of each meeting is reserved for community questions and feedback.
Additional in-person presentations are tentatively planned for June.
The design process was kicked off in April and is focused on identifying and prioritizing campus needs, said Amy Yaley, communications director for the hospital in Port Townsend, adding that input will drive the scope and scale of the project.
At a minimum, challenges presented by a 36,000-square-foot administrative services center known as the 65 building — for the 1965 year that it was constructed — must be addressed, CEO Mike Glenn told the Port Townsend Noon Rotary Club in December.
To do more would require a bond estimated at $112 million, an amount that hospital board member Kees Kolff has said is not cast in concrete.
At maximum, 100,500 square feet of new hospital campus would be built that would include “comprehensive phasing” of new facilities, according to the RFQ.
A 54,000-square-foot office building of two to three stories would include an ancillary surgery center, relocation of primary care office, and women’s heath, dermatology, urology and sub-specialties relocated from the existing hospital. It would include new ear-nose-throat, pulmonology and neurology services.
The new “infill building” would include a linear accelerator, an express clinic, a cardiac-pulmonary rehabilitation area and an MRI suite, along with a new kitchen and staff and public dining areas, according to a request for qualifications (RFQ) from Puget Sound-area contractors for progressive design-build services.
The RFQ referred to “bond referendum $ released” in January 2023 in the tax district of 29,000 residents, construction beginning in February 2023 and “final completion (potential)” in June 2024.
The current hospital district levy is 7.7 cents per $1,000 of valuation that consists of a non-voted bond and levy.
