Joe Kunkel, project director for the ongoing construction of Samaritan Hospital and the Quincy Valley Medical Center, is the guest on the Studio Basin podcast this week.

Kunkel said both projects are staying within the projected budget and on the projected timeline. Construction on QVMC is scheduled for completion in spring 2025 – but there’s still preparation required before the doors can open for patients, Kunkel said. Patients should start being treated at the new facility in summer 2025.

Samaritan hospital construction should be completed by late 2025, with the goal to admit patients by spring 2026, Kunkel said. It’s been a long road for the Samaritan project, but windows are going in, the exterior is close to being finished and interior framing has begun.

In sports, Sports Reporter Ian Bivona and Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer break down recent football, girls soccer and volleyball action involving Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, Othello, Quincy and Wahluke.