Oregon officials on Monday announced that the federal government had released $14.6 million in funding for a coastal hospital project that had been withheld by the Trump administration for more than a year.
The funding will enable the Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria to upgrade its facilities and build a shelter where patients can receive medical care during a natural disaster.
It is one of nearly three dozen projects in Oregon that saw its funding frozen in April 2025, by the Trump administration. A total of $225 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had already been promised for the projects in Oregon before the Trump administration suddenly suspended it.
Columbia Memorial Hospital officials last April made the decision to continue with the project as they worked with local, state and federal officials to advocate for the release of the funds, according to a statement from the hospital Monday. Hospital officials in the statement said they were thrilled to have the $14.6 million restored.
The funding will complete the project’s budget and “ensures that our community will receive a fully resilient, modern health care facility,” Erik Thorsen, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said in the statement.
The upgraded facility will also provide shelter for more than 1,900 people in the case of a natural disaster.
Austin Riley Miller, a spokesperson for the hospital, on Monday said the federal grant was contingent on a 30%, or $6 million, local match for a total of $20 million. He said when the federal government froze the grant, the state of Oregon still provided its match of $6 million, which the hospital was grateful for.
As of last year, the total preliminary construction budget for the project was between $225 million to $250 million.
Oregon’s Democratic U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Oregon Democratic U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Gov. Tina Kotek, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and state Rep. Cyrus Javadi, D-Tillamook, on Monday announced the restoration of the funds.
The hospital had received the grant through FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, also known as BRIC. The program, which was suspended by the Trump administration last year, provides funding for projects that address hazard mitigation planning and reduce risks from natural disasters.
FEMA released the $14.6 million following legal challenges and advocacy by Oregon lawmakers, the statement said.
“Natural disasters don’t care if you’re in a red state or a blue state - FEMA shouldn’t either,” Javadi said in a statement. “So when the Trump Administration went back on its word, I promised we’d keep fighting until Columbia Memorial got what it was owed. Today that fight paid off. This funding will help our community be ready when the ground shakes or the water rises.”
A FEMA spokesperson didn’t return requests seeking comment. It was not immediately clear if funding for the other Oregon projects had been restored.
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