Major Hospital Expansion Underway for Seattle Area

(SNOQUALMIE, Wash.) — Snoqualmie Valley Health hospital broke ground  Aug. 22 on a major expansion. The new facilities, due to be completed late next year, include new operating and exam rooms, community event spaces, a restaurant, and a three-story rock climbing gym, according to the hospital.

The town of Snoqualmie, located 45 minutes outside of Seattle, relies on the hospital for inpatient and outpatient services. This expansion of the previous hospital will add more than 80,000 square feet for the roughly 50,000 people it serves. This means that some locals in emergency situations won’t have to drive 15-minutes to reach the closest hospital with new wings, such as a Surgery Facility will be added. 

These new facilities are expected to double the Snoqualmie Valley Health staff by 2030 providing more local jobs, according to the hospital’s website.

“There is lots of planning in the works to optimize services for our community,” Community Partner Development and Outreach Manager Kelly Bender told The Click in an email. The hospital “did a feasibility survey and community health needs assessment to determine the greatest areas of need for Snoqualmie Valley,” she explained. This includes the need for outpatient services expansion and new equipment such as a CT scanner and a mammogram. 

Members of the Snoqualmie Ridge FaceBook group expressed excitement over the expansion project with one writing that “[the] Snoqualmie Valley Hospital is amazing, glad to see they are expanding.” Other comments conveyed concern over the busy intersection located next to the hospital. However, the community project description said a new traffic signal will be added as part of the proposal.

“We will continue to update The HUB [hospital] website and social media accounts for changes and new developments,” Bender said.