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Harbor Regional Health officials brief council on new services, local role
Summary
Hospital representatives told the Aberdeen City Council about expanded cardiac services, a new MRI, prompt-care relocation and the hospital’s economic role in Grays Harbor County.
Harbor Regional Health officials gave the Aberdeen City Council an overview of recent service expansions and the hospital’s role as a major local employer.
The presentation summarized clinical and facility upgrades, including an in‑house cardiac catheterization lab opened in March 2020 that expanded to elective procedures in early 2024, a newly installed MRI with higher weight capacity and quieter operation, and plans to relocate and expand the prompt‑care clinic into a new building within the next three to nine months, hospital representatives said.
The report matters to residents because it affects where critically ill and routine patients receive care and because the hospital, officials said, contributes to county employment and economic development. “We’re a hub of health care,” one presenter said, noting Harbor Regional Health is the county’s largest employer and provides Level 3 trauma coverage and 24/7 general surgery, obstetrics and orthopedic surgery.
Hospital leaders said the cardiac cath lab can now perform elective procedures so fewer patients must travel out of county. A cardiology clinic will see patients roughly Monday through Thursday and arrange outpatient procedures. The new MRI was described as quieter, faster and able to image larger patients, including people up to about 500 pounds, improving inpatient and emergency imaging capacity.
On hospital capacity, presenters said the hospital is licensed for 140 beds across two historic facilities but now focuses most inpatient care at the West Campus; that reduces the number of staffed inpatient beds in that single facility to an operational total they estimated at roughly 75 to 80, with additional observation beds available. Hospital staff said that change was made for financial viability and to grow primary care services, and they will monitor federal Medicare and Medicaid policy for future adjustments.
Council members asked about inpatient capacity and whether bed counts would change; hospital staff said expansions will focus largely on outpatient services and primary care growth, and they will continue monitoring payer and regulatory developments.
Hospital staff also described partnerships with the Tribal wellness center and community clinics that reach Westport and Ocean Shores, and they encouraged residents to follow the hospital’s social media for clinic hours and short‑notice closures.
No formal council action was taken; the presentation was informational. The council moved to public comment after the briefing.
