Editor’s Notebook: The new CMH inspires pride and awe

Published 10:28 am Wednesday, February 25, 2026

The new Columbia Memorial Hospital is a generation-spanning community investment that inspires pride and awe.

Driving by the construction site on Exchange, a passing glance gives an impression of dedicated and hectic activity. Workers toil several places all at once in a complex field of steel beams and a maze of carefully woven rebar.

It’s possible to imagine how construction hundreds of years ago of mighty European cathedrals probably inspired similar admiration of the ability of skilled designers and builders to come together to bring a vision to life. Whereas those soaring works of art and wonder sought to inspire religious awe, Astoria’s forthcoming hospital — planned for completion toward the end of next year — will be an amazing citadel of medical science.

This Tuesday I was given a generous walk around the site with CMH Chief Executive Officer Erik Thorsen, construction boss Greg Gentry (who is senior superintendent for Skanska USA Building Inc.), Molly Wing, BuildCMH Expansion Project director, and Sarah Bello, CMH director of communications.

If you’re someone as ignorant as I am when it comes to the nearly unimaginable complexity of a modern American hospital, you can sympathize with my inability to even begin to convey how it all fits together.

Major utility lines had to be rerouted to clear the site for what lie ahead. Hundreds of strong anchors were driven deep into the compacted rock-like siltstone that underlies much of the Lower Columbia River region, ensuring the hospital complex’s survival of the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake that will strike someday. The day I visited, a huge pit was being prepared to safely contain reserve fuel storage to heat the facility and power emergency generators. Cement trucks will make their way to the site over the next couple days to pour a thick pad in the vicinity of the hospital’s new entry.

And all this is before construction even starts on the actual facility we will recognize as the hospital. It will be laced with many systems — the nerves, arteries, organs and muscles of the organism. Its beautiful exterior will eventually be striking, but only acts as the skin of a marvelous creation.

It’s worth reminding everyone that serving the region during and after an earthquake/tsunami event is deeply engrained in CMH’s design. Though $21 million in federal funds promised in aid of that goal are still in limbo, CMH remains totally committed to resiliency in the face of natural disasters. They’ll make it happen, one way or another. This will place it at the forefront of Pacific Northwest coastal hospitals.

Personally, as I commented during the tour, my wife and I will be so grateful for expansion of the emergency department. Though not quite “frequent fliers” there, we use it often enough to appreciate what a difference it will make to have it expand from 4,500 square feet to 14,600, and from eight patient spaces to as many as 24. (This winter’s severe respiratory illnesses have recently brought a major surge in ER visits, by the way.)

The hospital already has enough in-patient beds, particularly considering those also available nearby at the excellent Providence Seaside Hospital and Ocean Beach Hospital. However, growing CMH from about 56,000 square feet to more than 182,000 will permit major expansion of its surgery and imaging departments — and the ER will have its own dedicated CT and X-ray.

Less specific to patient care but nevertheless important for morale, there will be a new cafe and chapel, along with bright and inviting indoor and covered outdoor social areas.

We will have more opportunities to celebrate this remarkable investment by our community in itself. We’ll continue covering major milestones as they happen.

It’s impossible to overstate what a big deal all this is for our region. Coupled with CMH’s inspirational collaboration with Oregon Health Sciences University, the new hospital will pay off in the form of better healthcare for decades to come. The physical facility will inspire pride and upon its completion we look forward to honoring everyone who plays a part.

In closing for now, this amazing hospital is staffed by an extraordinary team of caregivers. A hospital is nothing without its people. The folks at CMH will enhance our health, society and economy for many years to come.

Matt Winters is regional editor of The Astorian, Seaside Signal and Chinook Observer.