MOSES LAKE — The tarp covering the “Emergency” sign at the new Samaritan Hospital could be removed a few minutes early, but it wasn’t officially open until the sign’s lighting was turned on. The timing had to be precise.  

“I’ve got to wait until 6:59 (a.m.),” said Jason Wilbur of Graham Construction.  

Until 6:59 a.m. Saturday, Samaritan Hospital was located on East Wheeler Road, where it had been, in various iterations, since 1955. At 7 a.m. the new hospital opened at the intersection of Yonezawa Boulevard and South Clover Drive. Turning on the Emergency room light was one of the last tasks making the change official. 

“Is it seven o’clock yet?” asked Chief Administrative Officer Alex Town as Wilbur awaited the go-ahead. 

Some of the emergency room nursing staff came outside to record the moment.   

“I’ve got to get this on video,” said Cortney Koehn, the Saturday morning ER charge nurse. “I’m so excited.”  

Koehn was part of the committee that worked with project architects to design the new facility. 

Patients had to remain at the old hospital until the new one opened, and throughout Saturday morning a steady stream of ambulances transported patients from the old to the new. While the new kitchen was open and serving meals by 7 a.m., Annmarie Waters-Guy of the culinary department said the old kitchen stayed open to make breakfast for patients waiting to move.  

People were arriving at the new Samaritan as soon as its doors opened, many of them family and friends waiting to visit patients. The family of an arriving patient knew his new room number.  

“Best guests of the day,” said Summer Best, who was part of the team helping families get oriented. 

A lot of Samaritan employees were drafted to help families on opening day, providing updates and escorting people where they needed to go as patients arrived. Normally Best works in the financial services department, but Saturday she was providing updates for waiting family and friends. 

“We’ve been building to this for eons,” she said.  

Hospital employees did walkthroughs of the new facility, and Best conducted tours during open house events; part of the training included a scavenger hunt. All employees, whether they directly care for patients or not, were familiar with every department and could direct people as needed. 

Koehn said it had been a long haul. 

“We started this in 2018,” she said.  

That's when hospital commissioners voted to build a new hospital, with an opening date scheduled for the early 2020s and financing secured through a loan from the US Department of Agriculture. The project was just about ready to be advertised for construction bids when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.  

Costs increased substantially while the project was on hold, and commissioners had to delay construction in 2022 because of inadequate financing. Hospital officials submitted a $130 million construction bond proposal to district voters to make up the difference, which was approved in April 2023.  

The old hospital has a flagstaff just off the main entrance, and hospital officials had a closing ceremony just before 7 a.m. Saturday to commemorate the building’s and its staff’s service to the region. The hospital was remodeled and expanded on multiple occasions, and a separate professional services building was built.  

Chief Executive Officer Thresea Sullivan said in an earlier interview that what will happen at the Wheeler Road site is yet to be determined.  

“We separated the professional building and the hospital, and we do have an offer on each one of them. We are still continuing to work with the state about this possibility of the state purchasing the building to use for behavioral health services,” Sullivan said. “If all three of those options fell through – which we hope that doesn't happen – unfortunately, we would probably have to take the building down, because it will cost us a lot of money per month to maintain. We're hoping that with three (offers) there, that we can make one of those work.” 

    Jen Charlo, left, and Summer Best, right, check the status of patients being transferred from the old Samaritan Hospital to the new one.
  

    A Lifeline Ambulance crew brings the first patient being transferred from the old Samaritan hospital to the new one Saturday.
  

    The new Samaritan Hospital opens for patients as Jason Wilbur of Graham Construction removes the covering on the “emergency” sign.