Kaiser gets okay to build new hospital

Kaiser Permanente has received approval from Oregon state regulators to build a $285 million hospital on a 15-acre site in the Tanasbourne area of Washington County.

Kaiser has historically used union contractors and workers on its construction projects.

The 138-bed, 380,000-square-foot facility will house surgical suites, an intensive care unit, an emergency department, a labor and delivery unit and a pharmacy. The campus will also include a specialty care medical office and outpatient surgery center.

State law charges the Oregon Department of Human Services with reviewing proposals for new hospitals and nursing facilities to ensure health-care consumers don’t pay for the cost of unnecessary facilities.