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LATER THIS SUMMER,
patients and
visitors at Kadlec Regional Medical Center
will find it easier to access the hospital
with the opening of the long-anticipated
parking garage.
The five-deck, $15.2 million facility
was made possible through Kadlec’s
recent affiliation with Providence
Health & Services. The garage will
provide nearly 660 parking stalls.
Parking at the hospital has long
been inadequate.
“When the four-story Kadlec building
was opened in 1971, the hospital had
48 doctors and 165 nurses. Today, the
medical center has 3,400 employees,
and the vast majority of these are on
the main campus,” said Jeff Clark, Kadlec
vice president, Support Services.
“These numbers reflect the growth
of the hospital, and there was just not
enough parking to handle it. Building
a parking garage was the best long-
term solution. We also recognized
the importance of addressing future
growth. The garage was built larger
than today’s demands would dictate in
order to accommodate future needs.”
Utilization of land on the Kadlec
campus was also important during
the planning of the garage.
“We believe the design and
placement of the garage provide an
added opportunity to build a new
medical office building on the campus
at some future date,” he said.
Initially, the garage will be reserved
for patients and guests.
“Once we study utilization, we will
make a determination if we have the
capacity to open the upper floors for
limited staff and physician parking. Our
first priority is to accommodate our
patients and guests,” he said.
The employee parking lots will
remain available, and the shuttle
servicing these lots will continue.
Potential for more than parking
The facility was designed to include
a retail center on the ground floor
facing Swift Boulevard.
“Adding businesses to the parking
garage will not only provide additional
services nearby the hospital, it will
make the facility more than just a
parking garage,” said Clark. “It will really
change the streetscape of the building
River Pavilion
Construction
Update
The completion of the final four floors
of the River Pavilion is set for this fall.
Two of the floors will open in October,
followed by a phased opening of
the final floors. When opened, the
expanded space will house acute care
and up to two floors of intensive care.
Drive on up
Kadlec’s new parking garage opening soon
and soften its appearance.”
A timeline to add the retail space
has yet to be determined.
Patience has been appreciated
“Our guests and staff have had to
navigate around construction and
have done so without complaining.
We truly appreciate everyone’s
patience. I think people understand
how important this project is. When
we announced at a Richland City
Council meeting that we were going
to build a parking garage, those in
attendance clapped,” Clark said. “It was
clear we were not the only ones who
recognized the need for this facility. It’s
been a long time coming.”
kadlec.org5