EXPANSION HOSPITAL REMODELED HOSPITAL CANCER CENTER POB1 POB2 EXCHANGE STREET 20th STREET 18th STREET FRANKLIN STREET MAIN ENTRANCE In the past three years alone, the health care industry has been challenged like never before. As a rural hospital and regional trauma center, CMH has strategically grown to meet the needs of the community. For example, in 2010, the area was served by a visiting cardiologist two days a month. Now, five providers in the CMHOHSU Health Cardiology Clinic care for patients. Adding services like cardiology and oncology has allowed patients to stay close to home for convenient specialty care. CMH is a health care hub for the region, and it’s imperative to grow even more. “Our current facility has served the community well and saved many lives,” says Erik Thorsen, CEO. “In the last decade, CMH and OHSU have launched many new service lines, and we have run out of spaces to grow. We need an expansion to better serve our growing patient population.” CMH also wants to improve the resiliency standards upon which the original hospital was built. Since CMH opened in 1977, there have been countless advancements with seismic knowledge and standards. Now that we know more, we want CMH to be a place to seek refuge during an earthquake or tsunami, not a place that we need to evacuate. Where we need to be Patients come to CMH from as far away as Tillamook, Oregon, and Raymond, Washington, for specialties and services such as cancer treatment, pediatrics and pulmonology. More than 80 providers serve 35,000 patients, with numbers growing each year since 2014 (not including 2020, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic). The CMH Board of Trustees, composed of 15 volunteer community members, has a vision for the hospital’s expansion in its current location in Astoria. With a shared goal of keeping the hospital viable and ensuring the delivery of safe, quality health care services, the Board is moving forward with the BuildCMH Expansion Project. Some people have wondered why CMH would make such a big investment in building on its present land, but it’s exactly where we need to be. Because of the level of care we provide here, our service area has grown exponentially. This is where our community needs us. The infrastructure to respond to a disaster The current hospital was constructed without the knowledge we have today regarding the Cascadia Subduction Zone. In case of a natural disaster, the building could sustain major damage or worse. With an updated facility, built to last and serve patients in extreme conditions, CMH will provide the infrastructure necessary to respond to such an event. “The team of architects, engineers and contractors that we are working with has many years of experience in health care design, and they are wellversed in building for resiliency and sustainability,” says Randy McClelland, BuildCMH Expansion Project Director. “We’re excited to construct not just a center for health and wellness, but also a safe harbor for the community in a disaster situation.” The expansion will focus on structural adaptability and minimized disruptions in case of catastrophe. It will meet the highest earthquake standards, and critical functions of the facility will remain operational even in an emergency. We’re excited to construct an innovative, resilient hospital of the future to care for many generations to come. The BuildCMH Expansion Project will lead our community into the next era of seamless, modernized, person-centered health care. COLUMBIAMEMORIAL.ORG EARLY SPRING 2023 5
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