Pullman Regional Hospital bond looks likely to fail

MOSCOW, Idaho – With an estimated 40 ballots left to be counted, it appears the Pullman Regional Hospital’s $29 million bond likely will fail.

Proposition 1, the bond for the hospital, is receiving 59.4 percent approval from voters, short of the 60 percent required to pass. A total of 4,487 ballots have been counted, which surpassed the minimum number needed for validation.

The next ballot count is scheduled for Monday, and the election will be certified Tuesday.

Proposition 1 was intended to fund a 45,000-square-foot facility expansion and a new electronic medical records system. The expansion would include space for a residency program.

“It’s disappointing,” PRH spokeswoman Megan Guido said of the results. “It’s awfully close.”

Guido said PRH is grateful for the support of the majority of voters who voted “yes” on Proposition 1 to support the hospital’s plans for its future.

“We’ll continue to talk about the options and what we can do in terms of different funding sources,” she said. “That’s obviously a key one that doesn’t appear to be available to us.”

She said the hospital will wait until the official certification for the final numbers. A similar PRH proposition in the spring drew a majority of yes votes, but voter turnout was too low for the election to be valid.