Hospital bond of $51 million to go on ballot

NEWPORT — Local rural healthcare is looking for a boost. Pend Oreille County Public Hospital District No. 1 will ask voters residing in hospital district 1 to approve a $51 million bond on the Aug. 4 primary election. If approved, the bond would fund an MRI unit and expanded surgical, rehabilitative and laboratory services, among other things.

“As a public hospital district, the district has limited non-voted debt capacity,” district public information officer Jenny Smith said. “Existing funding sources would only support a portion of the proposed project and would not address system-wide space and infrastructure constraints. Completing only partial improvements could create additional pressure on departments that are already operating at capacity.”

District commissioners voted unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 2026-01, “concerning a proposition to finance hospital expansion and renovation to improve access to local healthcare services” at their monthly meeting Thursday, March 26. If approved by voters, the bond would, “issue no more than $51,000,000 of general obligation bonds maturing within 30 years; and levy annual excess property taxes to repay the bonds.” The projected tax impact is estimated at $1.47 per $1,000 of assessed value. The bond needs a 60% supermajority to pass. According to Smith, the district completed a market assessment in 2025 that included analysis of demographic trends, service utilization, and patient origin data. The assessment identified that a portion of residents currently travel outside the district, including to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, to access certain healthcare services. Smith said these findings are consistent with the district’s 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, which also identified gaps in access to specific services locally.

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“The data indicates opportunities to expand certain services within the community based on current utilization patterns and projected population needs,” Smith said. “In-district availability of these services would allow more patients to receive care locally rather than traveling outside the area. The proposed expansion and renovation are intended to align facility capacity with these identified service needs.”

The bond would fund the replacement of the existing 1958-era building with a new three-story addition and relocate the main entrance to improve patient access and internal flow between services. Smith said it would also expand surgical services by adding additional operating rooms to increase capacity, as well as renovate and expand the Emergency Department, including updated treatment space and the addition of designated behavioral health rooms. There would also be increased space for imaging, laboratory, and rehabilitative therapy services to address current space and infrastructure constraints, as well as provide additional space for outpatient services, including infusion services, within the hospital campus. The bond would also cover related design, construction, equipment, and other capital costs necessary to complete the project as authorized by the commission, according to Smith.