Richland Plans for Kadlec Growth – Hospital Is City’s Largest Employer + No. 4 in Tri-Cities

$140 million went from Kadlec Health Systems to Tri-Cities families last year.

That's up from Kadlec's $30 million payroll just 11 years ago when it employed 740 people. Today it employs about 2,200 people -- the most in Richland's "business district" and the No. 4 largest private employer in the Tri-Cities. That's according to the City of Richland, which is doing everything it can to help Kadlec continue to grow.Right now city leaders are considering a plan for gradual expansion over the next 10 years. Commuters on Goethals Drive will notice major construction in the neighborhood currently.

Economic Development Manager for the City of Richland Gary Ballew said, “In the past the area has had a medical leakage; people from the community seeking treatment in Seattle or Spokane. But now due to Kadlec not only has the leakage stopped but it has reversed. Kadlec brings people and economic stimulus to the economy.”

In November, Kadlec began leasing to WSU a 10,000 square feet of space in a building it owns at a rate of $1 per year for 20 years to encourage the development of the nursing program at WSU Tri-Cities.