New Hospital Project in Lincoln City

North Lincoln Health District (NLHD) is a public taxing district that was formed in 1965 for the primary purpose of building and operating the North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City, which opened in 1968. The health district’s board members are publicly elected.

The North Lincoln Hospital Foundation (NLHF) was formed in 1983 with the mission of supporting the health district, the hospital and the overall health and well-being of the community. Since then, countless individuals and businesses have generously supported the foundation’s efforts, helping to raise more than $2 million for medical equipment, services and financial support for patient and community wellness programs.

Samaritan Health Services (SHS) is a not-for-profit regional health system comprising hospitals, physician clinics and health plans serving Lincoln, Benton and Linn counties. In 2001, the health district and Samaritan entered into a long-term affiliation in which the health district continued to own the hospital and adjacent properties (serving as the landlord) and Samaritan operated those facilities (serving as the tenant). Thus, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital was created as part of the affiliation agreement between NLHD and SHS. The not-for-profit hospital is part of SHS and employs those who work at the hospital.

In February 2016, NLHD transferred ownership of its land and buildings to SHS with the provision that SHS build a new hospital to serve the health care needs of residents and visitors for decades to come. SHS will also consider how to best situate the new hospital on the hospital campus and how the campus can further be developed to address other health and community needs. NLHD will continue to exist in support of health-related programs in the community.

The vision is to create a world-class, award-winning, community-centered rural hospital campus that will challenge conventional expectations, be patient- and family-centric, flexible, scalable and reflective of our local culture. We envision a state-of-the-art hospital campus that exemplifies excellence and is environmentally conscious, sustainable, timeless and mission-driven.

Planning work is scheduled to take place through 2017, with construction occurring in 2018 and taking about two years. In the initial planning phase, Samaritan Health Services (SHS) and Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital will learn more about what is needed in a new hospital by gathering and analyzing data about the community’s demographics and health priorities, patient volumes in the hospital and outpatient clinics, and opportunities for new and enhanced programs and services. A Colorado-based firm was recently hired to assist with this data collection and analysis. The firm will also conduct a market assessment of service lines; develop a workflow/process improvement analysis; prepare a capital budget for planning, design, construction, equipment and furnishings; present recommendations for a campus master plan; and work with hospital leaders to develop community and philanthropic support.

Once the planning work is complete, SHS will hire an architectural/design firm and a construction company that are experienced in building small rural hospitals with an emphasis on understanding the specialized needs of coastal building. Once these important steps are accomplished, a more precise timeline can be announced.

Those costs will be determined once facility planning has been completed.

Samaritan Health Services will pay for the construction of the new hospital building(s) and the development plan for the hospital campus. Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital will pay for equipment and furnishings, with support from contributions to the North Lincoln Hospital Foundation.

This federal designation is designed to help small, rural hospitals remain financially viable and pays them a higher rate of Medicare reimbursement. In order to maintain the designation, CAH hospitals cannot operate more than 25 inpatient beds. There are 25 CAHs in Oregon, including hospitals in Tillamook, Dallas, Florence and Lebanon, in addition to those in Lincoln City and Newport.

We will know more as recommendations are made on where to locate the new hospital on the campus, and how the remaining property can best be used to serve patient and community needs. It is unlikely that any changes will occur with the buildings that house the Samaritan Medical Plaza (the Surgical Clinic) and Samaritan Early Learning Center.

First, the existing Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital campus offers a tsunami-safe, mostly level, easily developed plot of land that is already owned by the hospital. Second, there is a lack of suitable land on Highway 101 that is large enough, easily developed and an appropriate distance from the next closest hospital, in Newport. The distance is important because both Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and Newport’s Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital are designated as Critical Access Hospitals, two of which normally cannot be within 35 miles of each other.

Yes. The North Lincoln Health District will continue to receive tax payments from property owners in the district and disburse it as needed to support hospital operations and other health-related programs as determined by the district board.

The district extends from the center of Lincoln Beach north through Lincoln City to the county line.

Continue to visit this website for updates and for information about upcoming community meetings, which will be getting underway later this year.