The "H" Word

GRAND COULEE, WASHINGTON - Everybody knows the "H" in "HUD" stands for "housing," right? Except the folks in Grand Coulee, Washington. There the "H" also stands for "hospital," as in the Coulee Medical Center which is the only acute care hospital for 50 miles in any direction.

The Center "received word from Washington D.C.," recalled construction project manager Greg Hanoff, "on a Thursday morning at 10:35 a.m." in July, 2009 that it could "begin construction effective immediately" on a new medical clinic thanks to a $23 million mortgage approved by the Federal Housing Administration, a part of HUD, under the Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance program . They were, he added, "the words we have been waiting for."

The new construction will replace the current 25-bed hospital. It's served the community for almost 50 years but, no surprise, it no longer meets code nor has adequate space for existing services or new patient technologies and services. The new building will provide new space for 20 examination rooms, three treatment rooms, and offices and conference rooms. By insuring the mortgage loan, FHA also is enabling the project to o obtain lower cost financing, saving the hospital some $8 million in interest expense over the life of the loan.

This is one of three hospital construction mortgages in the Northwest that FHA has insured over the last 18 months. The other two were n Stayton, Oregon about 15 miles southeast of Salem, the state capital and in Coquille in southwest Oregon.

"From Ben Casey to House, Dr. Kildare to E.R," said HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Mary McBride, "TV causes many of us to think of hospitals as sprawling complexes in big cities. But hospitals play just as critical a role in the physical and economic well-being of smaller, rural communities like the greater Grand Coulee area. We're pleased with how quickly and effectively the Coulee Medical Center has put our resources to work to better serve those who have the privilege to live, work and raise families."

How "critical a role"? Construction alone has created almost 400 full-time jobs in the area, great news in a time and an economy where construction jobs are hard to come by. Even better, the project provided an estimated economic stimulus of $78.3 million to the community. Once completed, the project will provide an annual economic benefit of approximately $21.9 million and support 117 jobs throughout the community.

Originally, the hospital had thought construction would take 24 months or longer. Just 18 months after receiving the go-ahead at 10:35 on a Thursday in July, hospital chief executive officer Scott Graham says "the event that we've all waited for with anticipation" is just weeks away "and it is really exciting to finally be able to make the transition" to the new facility.

But the moment's also "bittersweet." For him, the building it's replacing was "a hallowed place," a place where "so many have come into this world, so many have been served and helped and healed and where many have left this world. As old as it was, it deserves our respect for all that has been done within her walls."

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