Construction on new college medical center in Richland reaches milestone

Construction crews placed the last beam on the Columbia Basin College’s Wortman Medical Science Center.

Officials held a topping out ceremony on Friday for the $17.7 million medical center. The traditional building rite is marked by placing the uppermost construction beam on a building.

When the 72,000-square-foot building is finished in 2017 on Northgate Drive in Richland, it will house students involved in the college’s nursing, paramedic, EMT medical assistant and fire science programs.

The facility will also function as a medical clinic to treat people through Kadlec’s family medicine residency program. Plans call for 32 exam rooms and an X-ray suite.

The facility’s namesake is Rand Wortman, the former Kadlec Regional Medical Center chief executive officer.

Kadlec donated $3 million for the project.

This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 8:12 PM with the headline "Construction on new college medical center in Richland reaches milestone."