No college for hospital

Commissioners for King County Public Hospital District 4 plan to pursue a new hospital at another location in the Valley, in the wake of last week’s decision by the King County Council ruling out a new hospital campus at Interstate 90 and Snoqualmie Parkway.

However, the hospital’s new plan won’t include a branch campus of Bellevue Community College, senior housing, or other partnerships with Valley organizations, commissioners stated Friday, Oct. 10.

“We’re focused just on the hospital,” CEO Rodger McCollum said.

The district is now looking at a couple of potential sites in Snoqualmie, McCollum said, with negotiations happening this week.

“Our plans, in terms of going forward, remain the same,” said Commissioner Fritz Ribary. “The need for the hospital still remains. The services are still being utilized, the revenue continues to build.”

The district had put a contract together to purchase the former Thousand Trails camp, one of the parcels needed for the new campus near I-90, but had not purchased any of the land. The hospital is talking to interested parties to transfer that contract to them.

The hospital’s existing campus has been purchased by the Snoqualmie Tribe.

Ribary said the Snoqualmie Tribe has given the hospital flexibility regarding when it must vacate the old Meadowbrook campus. McCollum said that timeline, which sets a 2011 move, remains in play.

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