Snoqualmie Valley Health details $147 million "hub" expansion, promising outpatient services and jobs

Snoqualmie Valley Health officials told the North Bend City Council on March 17 that their new "hub" expansion will be an 85,000-square-foot ambulatory campus designed to centralize outpatient care, community space and revenue-generating services.

"The hub brings all of that together in one space that we can have all of those things in one place," said Renee Jensen, who presented the project and identified herself as part of Snoqualmie Valley Health. Jensen said the project's estimated cost is $147,000,000 and that the district financed construction with revenue bonds rather than new local taxes.

The project will add ambulatory surgery capacity, a radiology suite in a daylight basement, expanded urgent care, additional primary care exam rooms, space for future MRI/CT, lab space, a retail pharmacy to be operated by the hospital district, a restaurant and community rooms, an AI-assisted rehabilitation gym and a three-story indoor climbing wall. Jensen said the hub is intended to be "revenue driven" to support long-term sustainability and reduce reliance on tax support.

Jensen described expected scale and staffing: the hub is about 85,000 square feet (the existing hospital is roughly 75,000) and she said the district expects about 225 new employees and roughly 30 new providers when the facility is fully staffed. She said construction is underway and the project team anticipates being able to occupy the building and move equipment in by November 2026, with full service timing dependent on contractor schedules.

The presentation addressed common community questions. Jensen said the facility will accept most insurance; she noted Kaiser is a closed network and generally does not provide out-of-network coverage. She also said the district provides charity care and will not turn people away for inability to pay.

On revenue and financing, Jensen said the district sold revenue bonds and that taxes support less than 5% of operations. The hospital district's foundation is conducting a capital campaign with a $2,000,000 goal to help equip the surgical center; Jensen said the project also has state, federal and county appropriations.

During council questions officials clarified operational points: radiology and heavy imaging equipment sit in the lower-level "daylight basement" to meet building code and load requirements; parking will be free and include EV chargers for staff and visitors; ambulatory surgery will initially open with two operating rooms out of four outfitted ORs, and the hospital will not provide an ICU. Jensen said the hub expands outpatient and acute-care capacity and reduces transfers for some patients.

Kelly (introduced by Jensen as a member of the outreach team) described planned community outreach and a flyer/QR code that links to the hub web page and appointment scheduling.

Why it matters: Jensen framed the hub as a capacity and access improvement for Snoqualmie Valley communities, saying it will expand specialty care available locally and create jobs. Because the project is debt-financed through revenue bonds, Jensen said its fiscal success depends on utilization and producing a bottom line to repay investors.

Next steps: construction continues this year, staff will continue outreach and the city and district will coordinate permitting and operational timing. Jensen asked council and residents to share information about services and openings as the district stages outreach events in the coming months.

(Reporting note: quotes and details above are drawn from the council meeting presentation by Renee Jensen and follow-up exchanges with city staff and council members.)