Once the new Sutter Medical Center in Castro Valley is completed, locals may not mind a stay in the hospital, as strange as that may sound.
The $320-million, seven-story facility, set to open on Lake Chabot Road in late 2012, should be a dazzler with 130 private rooms, outdoor gardens, light and airy earth tones, colored-glass accents and state-of-the-art technology.
When Sutter opens, Eden Medical Center, that familiar sight on the hill, will be demolished, taking with it 56 years of Castro Valley history and memories.
"We have adult patients who tell us they were born here, as well as physicians and employees who were born here," says George Bischalaney, Eden's president and chief executive officer. In comparison to newer, more modern hospitals, the 176-bed Eden, built in 1954, is outdated, inefficient and not earthquake-proof.
California's new earthquake standards, enacted after the 1994 Northridge quake, spurred the hospital project. Hospitals statewide must comply with the revamped seismic standards by 2013, or, at the latest, 2015.
Aging Eden was deemed too costly and impractical to retrofit, says Cassandra Clark, Sutter's project communications director. Building a new medical complex was the chosen option.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved the hospital in mid-2009, and ground was broken a few weeks later. Contractors are working rapidly so that the new facility can be operating by the state's seismic-standards deadline of Jan. 1, 2013. The project will have created roughly 1,000 construction jobs, Clark says.
Sacramento-based Sutter Health operates 28 hospitals in Northern California, including Eden Medical and San Leandro Hospital on East 14th Street in San Leandro. Not-for-profit Sutter is funding the construction as part of its capital improvements, making this the first hospital built in Alameda County without the use of taxes or public funding, Clark says.
"This was one of the reasons Eden affiliated with Sutter Health," she adds. Sutter purchased Eden and affiliates in 1997. "The looming state deadline for seismic upgrades meant an investment in capital improvement (that was) more than we could handle as an independent hospital."
Sutter plans to shake off the "institutional" hospital feel and replace it with a peaceful, healing atmosphere. The two- and four-bed wards of Eden will be history. All rooms in the new center will be single-patient and roomier, with private showers, flat-screen televisions and computer-docking stations, Clark says.
Sutter is coming to life in the Internet age, so Clark is relying heavily on social-media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube to connect with the community while documenting the hospital's progress.
Planners blog about the project, allowing for feedback and questions from the public. Castro Valley residents are afforded front-row seats via a 24-hour WebCam filming the construction.
"I wanted to take a different approach to communicating with our neighbors and community about this project," Clark says. "Social media seemed like the perfect opportunity."
"As the 'skin' goes on the hospital building, the WebCam won't be very interesting, and so we will move to video tours and interviews with various phases of the interior construction," Clark says. "My hope is that the community feels a real connection to the new hospital as it is built and with the people who build it."
Sutter will continue Eden's role as the regional trauma center for southern Alameda County. A new helipad has been completed, Clark says. A portion of Eden's parking lot formerly served that purpose.
"The new medical center in Castro Valley assures people of central Alameda County and beyond of a safe, state-of-the-art medical facility that will be here to take care of them and their families for years to come," says Bischalaney.
But the 230,000-square-foot hospital is going up amid some concern and controversy over the elimination of in-patient psychiatric services there, and the fate of Eden's sister site at San Leandro Hospital.
Eden Medical has a 15-bed psychiatric ward, plus intensive outpatient therapy. An inpatient unit is not slated for Sutter. Outpatient therapy will be offered, Bischalaney notes, adding that presently outpatient services are used more than inpatient.
"Patients who need hospitalization may be treated at other facilities within the county," he says. "Fremont Hospital in the southern part of the county and Herrick Hospital in the northern part of the county both offer inpatient services."
San Leandro Hospital's future is uncertain. There has been talk of the facility being turned over to Alameda County or used for rehabilitation.
"Despite the reports of issues related to the hospital over the past year, San Leandro Hospital has continued to provide inpatient and emergency services without interruption," says Bischalaney. "There is a very loyal group of employees and physicians who remain committed to providing good care despite the distractions. "
The California Nurses Association is one of the most vocal groups battling Sutter to keep San Leandro open, particularly its emergency room. The association launched its "Save San Leandro Hospital" campaign and contends that closing the hospital will put the community at risk.
Supporters maintain that more than 25,000 people are seen annually in its emergency room, and these patients' lives could be jeopardized with increased time and distance to other already-overwhelmed ERs.
Sutter officials have not announced any decisions. "The ultimate determination for San Leandro Hospital will be made by people outside the day-to-day operations of the hospital. Until those decisions are made, our job is to continue to provide the best care possible," Bischalaney said.
As for the new hospital, orthopedics, oncology, neuroscience and trauma care will remain as specialties, according to Clark. Landscaping will get a boost with outdoor dining and seating and a healing garden. Also planned for the campus is an adjoining, four-story medical office building.
In addition to the 130 patient beds planned for Sutter, 34 more beds will be added in a new Universal Care Center (UCC). Clark says the UCC, a fairly new concept in health care, will be staffed by registered nurses and will treat short-stay patients that in a traditional setting would be admitted and occupy inpatient beds.
"The UCC is ideal for outpatient surgery, short-stay monitoring, emergency department patients who have been given a course of treatment that requires less than 24 hours of care, overflow for emergency and for emergency patients awaiting admission," Clark explains. The center also can provide disaster-relief care.
Also on tap are two urgent care centers – one in the hospital and one in the 80,000-square-foot medical office-complex, Clark says. Urgent-care centers traditionally provide faster, lower-cost alternatives to an emergency room.
"Green" and "sustainability" are the buzzwords as hospital designers aim for LEED Certification, the recognized worldwide standard for environmentally friendly buildings. Green touches will include low-flow plumbing to reduce water consumption and a "green" roof for reduced heat and energy costs, Clark notes.
Reducing construction waste is also key to LEED. Laurel Grove Hospital was part of Eden's Castro Valley campus, serving as a rehabilitation facility. When it was demolished earlier this year, every part was reused or recycled, down to the concrete foundation. The foundation was ground up and is being used as site fill at the new hospital site, reports Bob Bosold, project manager for Eden Medical.
Bosold is one of Sutter's online bloggers. Like many of the project coordinators who post, Bosold shares not only construction updates, but his personal perspective and emotions. He found bittersweet, for example, the demise of Laurel Grove, where he had been a long-term employee and a patient.
"I feel a sense of pride in being involved in creating a good facility (at Laurel Grove) that provided care to so many people, and a sense of sadness in seeing it go," Bosold writes. "But I am also excited, knowing this is progress and we are making way for our new hospital."
Bischalaney said he hopes Castro Valley residents who feel a connection to Eden Medical, will feel a similar bond to Sutter.
"We will be here to care for their children and grandchildren," he says.
