About Us
Campus Master Plan
Memorial’s campus master plan is designed to meet the expanding health care needs of Yakima in the years to come. On this page you will find not only those plans but also avenues for you to have your say in the process.
We look forward to hearing from you and continuing to serve you as part of the community.
What we've learned—minutes of our previous community conversations |
Dear Neighbor,
Discussions with our neighbors and the City of Yakima about future development of the hospital campus continue. At our neighbors’ request, we have delayed submitting the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement to the City while we explore with City officials alternative land use approaches.
Background. Many of you joined us late last year for three Community Conversations about the Campus Master Plan. During those conversations, interest was high in alternatives for assuring the character and charm of the neighborhood is honored as the campus is developed over the next 30 to 40 years. We have continued those discussions with our neighbors, including representatives of the Barge-Chestnut Neighborhood Association.
We developed the Campus Master Plan because Yakima will continue to grow and so will the community’s health care needs. Our challenge is to take care of these needs while being a good neighbor. That’s why we are committed to keeping the hospital campus within the boundary set in 1995 and ensuring future development on campus will be only for services that support hospital care or are necessary for patient safety.
Work on the environmental document included a study focusing on traffic impacts related to hospital campus development and ways to improve traffic flows. The study looks at traffic for the years 2015, 2025 and 2035. We’ve included a summary about the study’s findings, including a map of the intersections examined.
Traffic study. The traffic study analyzed keeping the campus open, with existing through streets and the alternative of closing certain streets, no longer allowing traffic through the campus. Closing the campus would improve pedestrian safety and lessen traffic for our residential neighbors to the north by diverting traffic coming to and leaving our campus onto Tieton Drive. However, it is the City’s decision whether to impose restrictions on these streets and a decision has not yet been made.
We believe that a closed campus is better for our neighbors on balance, but we’re very interested in hearing from you on the alternatives.
More information or comment. Learn more about the traffic study, other environmental work and details of the Campus Master Plan by visiting the Community Room in the White House in the East Parking Lot on the Memorial Campus. The Community Room is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. You will also find lots of background, information and answers to many questions online at www.yakimamemorialhospital.org. Share your thoughts or questions with us on our community comment line at 575-8820, or email us at communityvoice@yvmh.org.
Thank you for helping us plan for the future.
Sincerely,
Stan Martinkus, Bill Wheeler
Past Chairs, Board of Trustees
R.W. Linneweh, Jr.
President, CEO
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Why a Campus Master Plan?
The Yakima Valley is a growing community and health care technology is changing at an ever-increasing rate. That’s why Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital has initiated a Campus Master Plan to assure our community has the capacity to meet its medical needs. We are working on the Campus Master Plan to figure out how to take care of these needs while being a good neighbor.
Memorial has been serving the health needs of the community since 1950. Today, the 225-bed, not-for-profit hospital has more than 130,000 patient visits annually. Our service area now includes more than 250,000 people and that number is expected to increase as the community grows.
To create the Campus Master Plan, we had to make assumptions about what the campus could be like in 30 to 40 years. We imagined a scenario with the campus having grown as much as it ever would in that time.
It’s important to note that the hospital campus will remain within the boundary set in 1995 for the next 30 to 40 years. In May 2005, the Memorial Board of Trustees formally adopted a policy which puts limits on the type of services located on the campus. In the future, only those necessary for patient safety or that support hospital care will be allowed. This policy will relieve some of the pressure on our main campus and would take us further into the community, even beyond our current 18 locations.
Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital has created a Campus Master Plan that looks 30 to 40 years into the future to respond to the health care needs of our growing community while being a good neighbor. There are three major steps to the plan’s approval: the Environmental Impact Statement, Comprehensive Plan and Zoning. Click here for a diagram of this process.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
At our neighbors’ request, we have delayed submitting the supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement to the City while we explore with City officials alternative land use approaches.
At a community meeting in April 2005, neighbors and community members helped us identify the environmental topics to be included in the plan’s draft supplemental EIS. Memorial is working with the City of Yakima and a team of experts to examine these significant issues, including traffic and noise.
Those experts included a study focusing on traffic impacts related to the hospital campus development as part of the environmental work. A summary of the study and a map showing the specific intersections studied is available on this site.
Once the draft supplemental EIS is issued by the City, it will be distributed for a 30-day public review and comment period. Copies will go to regulatory agencies, organizations and individuals. Comments received during the comment period will be addressed in the final EIS.
Comprehensive plan
After the final EIS is completed, the City will begin detailed review of the requested changes to the comprehensive plan future land use map designations. The City will hold formal public hearings on the requested changes.
Zone change
Should the City Council approve the requested changes to the comprehensive plan future land use map designations, it will hold public hearings in connection with any related zone change. Zone changes also require City Council approval.
When it comes time for Memorial to plan a new building project, we will need to apply for a building permit. Every building project requires a separate permit and a separate City approval. We have no new buildings being planned at this time. The earliest Memorial could have another building project is in 2008.
You’re invited to view the documents and drawings associated with looking ahead 30 to 40 years into the future to ensure our community has the capacity to meet its medical needs.
You can examine the Campus Master Plan. You can also see draft sections of the Environmental Impact Statement as they are completed. The sections will discuss issues related to transportation, traffic and parking, water/storm drainage and noise and historic/cultural preservation among other issues.
For more information, contact Memorial’s communications department at 249-5219.
Comment line: To leave a comment or question on Memorial’s Campus Master Plan, call 575-8820.
A series of Community Conversations have already taken place about the future of the Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital main campus. Our theme is "Future Needs—Future Solutions" and together we will reality test our plan for Memorial’s hospital campus. Your participation in these conversations is important and valuable in making sure we have looked at all the issues and solutions.
The Community Conversations have been part of Memorial’s Campus Master Plan that will look 30 to 40 years into the future. They are part of Memorial’s commitment to ensure we have the capacity to meet the community’s future medical needs while being a good neighbor. As part of the plan, Memorial is working on an Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and has hired experts to study what impacts the proposed plan may have on the environment and the neighborhood.
The Community Conversations allow you to learn about the study results and suggest ways to lessen the environmental impacts of the plan. You can see the results of past Community Conversations on this Web site, read common questions raised during the meetings, besides submit your own comment or question.
Meetings scheduled
While no current meetings are scheduled, we have been meeting with our neighbors and the City of Yakima about the future development of the hospital campus.
Follow the links below to read minutes of three scheduled Community Conversations detailing the plans, processes and consultations regarding the development of Memorial Hospital in the coming years.
EIS Community Conversation No. 1, Oct. 20, 2005
Campus Master Plan Community Conversation No. 2, Nov. 10, 2005
Campus Master Plan Community Conversation No. 3, Dec. 1, 2005
We are delighted to receive feedback regarding our plans and our meeting. Please follow the links below to read the comments we have so far received.
- Click here to read comments from the Oct. 20 Community Conversation.
- Click here to read comments from the Nov. 10, 2005, Community Conversation
- You may click here for answers to questions asked about the Campus Master Plan.
The following is a list of key contacts for questions and comments on the Campus Master Plan. The list includes:
- Rick Linneweh, President/CEO
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575-8001
- Jim Aberle, VP/CIO/Support Services
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575-8681
- Anne Caffery, Vice President,
- Communications and Development
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576-5794
Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital also has a communication team available to respond to your questions and help schedule a Campus Master Plan speaker for your organization. If you are interested in speaking with one of our experts or any member of Memorial’s family, please call the comment line anytime at 575-8820 and we’ll get back to you soon.
City of Yakima Contacts
A complete list of contacts for the City of Yakima is available at the following Web site: www.ci.yakima.wa.us/contacts/depthead.asp.
- The City of Yakima
- 129 N. Second St.
- Yakima, WA 98901
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Phone: 575-6000
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FAX: 576-6614
- Web site: www.ci.yakima.wa.us
Other resources
Return to this page regularly, as Memorial will provide additional material as it becomes available on its Campus Master Plan.
- Aerial view of current campus.
- Campus Master Plan boundary map.
- Campus map with possible development over the next 30 to 40 years.
