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New Samaritan Center open for business

by Rodney Tanaka

November 14, 2013

Read 3 mins

Samaritan Health Services has opened an events and meeting facility on the 54-acre Samaritan Health Sciences Campus, which also houses the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest.

The Samaritan Center is a 12,000-square-foot facility that can accommodate groups as large as 600 indoors, but offers flexible configurations so that it can be divided into smaller rooms to accommodate breakout meetings or more intimate gatherings.

The Army Forward Surgical Team brought the mobile Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter (DRASH) unit to the Samaritan Center Nov. 7-8, 2013. COMP-Northwest students, faculty, and staff, along with high school students, physicians and the public, visited the unit. The DRASH unit is tented surgical suite including all surgical equipment necessary for front line support.

With flexible event space and a formal garden in the works, the center is a welcome addition to the area, said COMP-Northwest Events Manager Kim Ketcham.

“We look forward to holding many events at Samaritan Center,” she said. “We can’t wait for the garden, hotel, and restaurants to be completed!”

Some of the amenities offered by the state-of-the-art center include flexible floor plans, indoor and outdoor space, full-service catering, event planning assistance, audio visual and telecommunications equipment, high-speed Internet and ample on-site parking.

The center also features a one-acre Japanese-style garden designed by world-renowned Hoichi Kurisu, who also designed the nationally-recognized healing garden at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital. The Lebanon Community Hospital Foundation raised the funds needed to develop the garden, which will also be available for events or to serve as an overflow option for larger groups.

An 80-room hotel and restaurant are being developed at the edge of the garden. The hotel will offer spacious guestrooms, many with garden views, and the restaurant will provide a casual upscale atmosphere for those staying at the hotel, as well as for the community. Both the hotel and restaurant are slated to open next year.

“This new center will help to fill an important gap for meeting and event space in the East Linn County community,” said Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital CEO Becky Pape. “We envision the Samaritan Center hosting a variety of events, including medical conferences, health education and training, community activities, board retreats, business meetings and weddings. Not only will the new center allow local organizations to keep their special events in the community, but we anticipate hosting groups and businesses from throughout the state.”

According to Samaritan Health Services President/CEO Larry Mullins, Samaritan Health Services is optimistic the center will have a positive impact on the local economy.

“We anticipate the center becoming not only the preferred location for local events, but also a premier destination for events throughout the region. We expect one of the benefits of this center to be the creation of additional customers and revenue for nearby businesses in our community,” Mullins said.

The Samaritan Center joins the growing health sciences campus, which is also home to SamFit, Samaritan Urgent Care/Walk-in, Samaritan Pharmacy, Cardiac Rehab, Central Willamette Credit Union and Fresenius Dialysis.

For more information about the Samaritan Center, visit www.SamaritanEventCenter.com or call 541-451-6305 or email info@samhealth.org.

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