Kaiser Permanente gets OK to build $285 million Tanasbourne hospital

New medical center would be first in the region in nearly 30 years

A rendering shows the proposed 380,000-square-foot Kaiser Permanente hospital that will be constructed in the Tanasbourne area.

Oregon’s Department of Human Services gave the green light Wednesday to Kaiser Permanente’s plan for a $285 million, 138-bed hospital in the Tanasbourne area.

The state agency approved Kaiser’s application to construct the 380,000-square-foot medical center, which will be the first new Portland-area hospital in nearly three decades.

“We are happy that Oregon officials agree with us about the need for more hospital beds in Washington County,” said Larry Wheeler, vice president of communications and external affairs for Kaiser Permanente’s Northwest Region. “Our membership there has grown by more than 60 percent in the last decade. We look forward to serving our growing membership, and to providing emergency care to all people in the community.”

In addition to the patient rooms, the facility will house surgical suites, an intensive care unit, an emergency department, a labor and delivery unit, imaging and laboratory services and a pharmacy.

The hospital is scheduled to open in 2011, along with an adjacent specialty care medical office and outpatient surgery center.

Wheeler said that Kaiser Permanente was committed to continuing charity care and providing health coverage for the uninsured in Washington County.

“We plan to continue our support of agencies serving the poor and vulnerable, such as the Essential Health Clinic, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Community Action and others,” he said.

Representatives from many of the organizations publicly supported the new medical center, as have county business and government leaders.

“We welcome this decision and look forward to offering better access and more local health care choices for the workers and residents of Hillsboro and the neighboring communities,” said Jonathan Schlueter, executive director of the Westside Economic Alliance.

Schlueter was one of a half-dozen people who testified in favor of the project at a public hearing in early December.

In Oregon, any organization that wants to build a new hospital must submit a certificate of need application to the state Department of Human Services. Kaiser Permanente submitted its application in 2005 and received approval Wednesday.

Kaiser Permanente’s only other Portland-area hospital is the Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas. That facility has 196 beds and is adding a 200,000-square-foot patient care wing.

More than 485,000 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington receive their health care from Kaiser Permanente.