The Pacific Communities Health District is building a $3.2 million, six-unit apartment complex next to Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital for use by medical residents practicing in Lincoln County. (Capri Architecture image)NEWPORT – Work has started on a $3.2 million, six-unit apartment building adjacent to Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital to provide housing for medical residents working there.
A project of the Pacific Communities Health District, the building is scheduled for completion this fall.
“Finding affordable housing at the coast is a well-known obstacle,” health district chair Chris Carlson of Waldport said in a statement announcing the start of construction. “These apartments will offer an option for our hospital’s medical residents who spend two years here as part of their training. The availability of a beautiful, brand new apartment rental right next to the hospital will undoubtedly be enticing to them.”
The apartment building is on Southwest Abbey Street, just north of the hospital’s main parking lot.
Once complete, the 5,400-square-foot, three-story building will offer one-bedroom apartments that average around 900 square feet, the health district said in a news release. Each has its own covered outdoor space, and dedicated parking.
The building was designed by Capri Architecture of Newport, which also designed Samaritan’s Center for Health Education. Kauffman Commercial of Salem is the contractor.
Medical residents accepted to Samaritan’s residency program spend their first year at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis or other larger volume, urban hospitals. The last two years they are based in Newport and may also see patients at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City.
The program’s goal is to create well-educated physicians specializing in family medicine with a focus on caring for an underserved, rural population, said Dr. Lesley Ogden, chief executive officer of the two Lincoln County hospitals. A secondary goal is to show the new doctors the opportunities available to them on the central Oregon coast, perhaps inspiring them to remain, she said.
Ogden“These physicians spend two years treating patients here,” Ogden said. “After they become involved in the community and explore everything wonderful about the Oregon coast, we hope they will want to build their practices locally and make this their home.”
Dr. Cassie Whittier, director of Samaritan’s rural residency program, said providing housing to doctors is a very attractive recruitment tool.
“We want our medical residents to feel connected and truly part of this community while they are here, and initiatives like this help make that transition easier,” Whittier said.
The Pacific Communities Health District Foundation will also be fundraising in support of the project.
Fantastic idea! I prefer to have medical staff who aren’t stressed over housing working on me. Could be a model for some of the local businesses which lament the lack of stable, affordable housing for their employees. Maybe businesses could combine their resources, get a grant, and follow Samaritan’s example. Better than trying to house workers in tents in the winter, or de-facto forcing them to cram too many people into one housing unit.