The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON – In November, voters approved the Columbia County Hospital District’s $5.5 million bond levy measure for major renovations to Dayton General Hospital. This winter, the district hopes to establish its game plan for the project.

On Wednesday, the district’s board of directors will meet with hospital and clinic staff, a Washington Hospital Association facilitator, and interested members of the public at an all-day retreat beginning at 8 a.m. in the Best Western Hotel on East Main Street in Dayton.

“We’ll be discussing when, where, and what’s needed, and how we’re going to accomplish it,” said the hospital district’s Interim Director John Smiley.

Hospital district voters, which includes all of Columbia County plus the portion of Walla Walla County within the Waitsburg School District boundaries, approved the improvement bond in November by just over the required 60 percent.

The project, which will be the first major renovation to Dayton General Hospital since the facility was built in 1964, will include improvements to the nurses’ station, food service facilities, and a major expansion of the physical therapy facilities including the addition of an aqua therapy pool. That is about the only set direction for the renovations at this point.

The board has not yet hired an architect for the project. “Part of the retreat will be to talk in terms of how we should go about doing this thing,” said Ted Paterson, a member of the district board. “What exactly are we going to do, and how are we going to get it done? Which projects are the priorities?”

The facilitator will be on hand during the meeting to speak about demographics, marketing, and what’s happening with rural hospitals throughout the state but especially in eastern Washington, Paterson said.

“At the end of the day, we’d like to see a one-year or a five-year strategic plan laid out,” he said.

“What services do we need and can we provide for residents in Columbia County and Waitsburg? Can we market and maintain the services provided by our clinics and our system? Which project do we take on first, and how do we want to approach the whole thing?”

No decisions will be made at the meeting, Paterson said. But the plan is for this strategic plan to be presented to the board at their next regular meeting, on Jan. 22, for approval.