Voters in Moses Lake, Wash., approved a $130 million construction bond request for Samaritan Healthcare, the Columbia Basin Herald reported April 26.
The funds will be used to pay part of the cost to build a new hospital, according to the report. Samaritan Healthcare commissioners initially voted to approve the construction of a new hospital in 2018.
Health system CEO Theresa Sullivan said commissioners originally thought they would not need a bond. However, a preliminary design was largely finished by late 2019 and plans were being prepared for bid when the COVID-19 pandemic halted the project in March 2020. Since then, hospital expenses and construction costs have risen, according to the report.
A consultant working with the hospital on the project said in January that the project will cost about $225 million if construction starts later this year.