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.”