Columbia Memorial Hospital details resilient design and seeks $6 million state match for FEMA BRIC-funded expansion

Columbia Memorial Hospital leaders told the Astoria City Council on Dec. 16 that the hospital's campus expansion has moved from design to active construction staging and is being shaped by resiliency goals intended to protect people and critical systems during seismic or tsunami events. "Resiliency was a main driver," said the hospital's design lead, explaining that key mechanical, electrical and med-gas systems, inpatient rooms and a rooftop helipad are located above the projected inundation plane so the facility can shelter and treat evacuees.

CMH CEO Eric Thorson said permitting is progressing — roughly eight of 18 permanent permit applications are complete — and that weekly coordination with city public works and community development has helped keep the project on schedule. Thorson estimated 300–400 craftspeople will work on the site over about 3 1/2 years during the construction phase, delivering a local economic boost while the hospital's campus work continues.

Thorson also outlined project funding: CMH received a $20,000,000 FEMA BRIC award to pay for many resiliency features, with an estimated 70% covered by FEMA and a 30% local match requirement. "We'll get roughly $14,000,000 from FEMA, and then we have to fundraise or supply $6,000,000 in local match," Thorson said, noting hospital leaders plan to ask the Oregon Legislature this session for support and are pursuing a $10,000,000 foundation capital campaign to fill remaining needs.

Architect Rich Shiga described specific design choices to survive scouring and liquefaction — deep robust foundations, utility lines attached to the floor slab, elevated mechanical rooms and reinforced first-floor columns designed to resist debris impact. Shiga said the expanded facility will include a community-accessible safe refuge able to shelter up to about 1,900 people and an emergency command center on the upper levels to coordinate post-event evacuations.

Officials outlined a multi-phase schedule: public-right-of-way work and utility rerouting and some site work began in late 2024 and are expected to run about a year; main hospital construction is projected to start in earnest around August 2025 and run to roughly December 2027, with the full campus work continuing into 2028. Thorson said a temporary helipad will operate during construction and that Pacific Power and local ISPs are lined up for utility relocations.

Councilors asked about noise, lighting and contingency communications. Thorson said CMH has adjusted temporary generator operations in response to neighbor concerns and that the design includes resilient antenna and communications rooms tied to the rooftop command center to maintain emergency communications as long as feasible.

Why it matters: The project aims to preserve acute care and community resilience on the North Coast by building a hospital designed to operate through or immediately after major coastal disasters. The local match requirement and the hospital's request for state assistance put a roughly $6 million funding question on the radar for the upcoming legislative session; the council signaled support for coordination and offered to provide letters as needed.