What’s happening with MultiCare’s $430M patient tower project in Puyallup?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- MultiCare plans to begin construction on a 160-bed patient tower in August 2025.
- The $431M project will expand total bed capacity to 230 and add future growth space.
- Hospital staffing may rise by 559 full-time roles to support increased bed capacity.
MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital’s proposed 160-bed patient care tower is now one step closer to becoming a reality.
Scott Thompson, spokesperson for MultiCare, told The News Tribune construction is expected to start this August.
“MultiCare anticipates that the construction cycle will take approximately two years following the issuance of building permits for the new patient care tower,” Thompson wrote in an email to The News Tribune.
The City of Puyallup’s website says the patient care tower will add 160 new inpatient acute care beds, along with a shell floor that will add 40 more beds in the future. Staff are also planning to transfer 30 beds from the existing Dally Tower, bringing the total capacity to 230 beds.
Thompson said the Washington State Department of Health has approved construction for the new tower.
During its May 20 meeting, the Puyallup City Council unanimously approved a first reading of the hospital’s new master plan, which includes the tower. In documents given to the city council, MultiCare estimated the total cost of the tower project would be around $431 million.
In the master plan, MultiCare said the proposed projects – including the tower – aim to increase capacity at the hospital, which has the fourth-busiest emergency department per capita in the U.S.
“Recent studies have identified a need for an additional 249 beds by 2036,” MultiCare wrote in the master plan document. “For these reasons, MGSH is requesting approval of a new 20-year Master Plan.”
The master plan also includes building two new medical office buildings, expanding the Emergency Room lobby area and expanding Dally Tower near Third Street Southeast.
“[The plan also includes] added building area and infrastructure related to the campus Central Utility Plant, new off-street parking garages, utility improvements, street improvements, landscaping, storm water infrastructure and other improvements,” the city’s website says.
Previously, MultiCare’s plans for the new patient tower sparked concerns about how the company plans to staff the extra beds. In documents provided to the city, MultiCare said they estimate the new patient tower could cause employment at the hospital to go from 2,351 full-time employees to 2,910 full-time employees – a 559-person increase.
“When the new patient care tower is complete, MultiCare will have 535 licensed acute care beds, making it the hospital with the fifth most acute care beds in Washington state,” the documents MultiCare provided to the city said.
When MultiCare first presented the master plan at the city’s April 15 study session, council members asked about whether the patient care tower will trigger more ambulance trips to the hospital. In documents provided to the city, MultiCare said it wouldn’t.
“While the patient care tower adds inpatient bed capacity for patients that need to be admitted to the hospital, it will not increase the number of emergency vehicle trips to the hospital,” MultiCare wrote in the documents. “Emergency vehicle trips are generally based on factors that are external to the hospital, such as the size of the population.”
The city approved MultiCare’s last master plan in 2007, which allowed them to build the 82-bed Dally Tower in 2011. In 2018, they added 80 more beds.
The city council will conduct a second reading of the hospital master plan on June 10 for final approval, which will require a roll call vote.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 2:17 PM.
