$240M project approved at Sequoia

HOSPITAL IN REDWOOD CITY, CALIF., PLANNING 148,000 S.F. PAVILION, GARAGE

 

By Sonja Pederson-Green

 

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City recently received the green light from the City Council to proceed with major renovations. The $240 million plan includes the construction of a new 148,000 square foot pavilion and a four-story parking garage.

The hospital was constructed in 1950, and in its current state it does not meet California’s Senate Bill 1953 – otherwise known as the state’s seismic codes. Part of the renovation would include modifying the building to meet such codes. Under legislation put into place following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, all hospitals must be up to code by 2013, or face being shut down. Sequoia Hospital expects it will meet the deadline with the planned renovations.

The hospital also hopes to obtain approval from the city to build an additional 50,000 square foot medical office building (MOB) on the campus. Several other medical construction projects have also been in the works in Redwood City lately. Stanford Hospital and Clinics broke ground on a project in January, and Kaiser Permanente has announced expansion plans for Redwood City.

Federal program

leads to boom

in New Hampshire

CONCORD, N.H. – Construction projects valued at up to $125 million at three small New Hampshire hospitals have a federal program to thank for the mini-boom. The federal program is aimed at maintaining healthcare access in rural areas.

New London Hospital, in New London, N.H., recently began a $21 million renovation project last year, which represents the smallest project of three approved in 2007. Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro, N.H. will spend $51.6 million updating and replacing much of its facility, which was built in 1923.

Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough, N.H., will spend between $20 million and $52.2 million on renovations.

The renovations are planned as ways to fix the currently run-down and outdated facilities. New London Hospital, for example, will privatize patient rooms while increasing space for physicians’ offices and special services, such as oncology and cardiac care.

The federal program that spurred the construction boom, called the Deferral Critical Access Program, allows smaller hospitals to bill Medicare for 101 percent of their treatment costs. Other New Hampshire hospitals typically receive about 83 percent of costs from Medicare. The difference in billing allows smaller rural hospitals to make up for the lower volume of patients.

To be designated as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), a facility must be far removed from another competitor, have fewer than 25 inpatient beds and an average stay of less than four days. Of the 13 New Hampshire hospitals that enrolled as CAHs, only one is still in the red.

House suspicious

of New Orleans

VA hospital plan

NEW ORLEANS – Members of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs recently expressed concern about plans to construct a new Veterans Administration (VA) hospital in downtown New Orleans. Their main concern is that the site might be prone to flooding in the event of another hurricane.

Many members of Congress have expressed interest in building VA hospitals in their home districts. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin claims the area in which the hospital would be constructed is protected by a ring of levees that were recently armored and repaired by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Concerns were also raised about the high costs associated with building structures in low-lying urban areas like the site in New Orleans.

New Orleans docs

balk at price

of future hospital

NEW ORLEANS – Doctors in New Orleans agree that a new teaching hospital is needed in downtown New Orleans to replaced the closed and flooded Charity Hospital, according to the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. However, the estimated price tag of $1.2 billion for the proposed 484-bed facility has caught many by surprise.

The new facility would replace the closed and flooded Charity Hospital, which was formerly the primary care source for New Orleans’ uninsured. The new hospital would share a site with a planned Veterans Administation (VA) in the planning stages for the downtown.

A survey of doctors agreed the state needs to build a new teaching facility for LSU and Tulane University, but most said a small teaching hospital would suffice, and a large charity hospital of such expense is unnecessary. Doctors also raised concerns that the six years it would take to complete construction would be too long to wait for an already overloaded system.

Neighbors down

about height

of N.J. hospital

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. – Residents of Ridgewood, N.J. are complaining about the potential construction of new 80-foot buildings proposed by The Valley Hospital. Valley Hospital plans to tear down two older buildings and construct three new ones, as well as above and below ground parking, as part of its $750 million renewal plan, over the next several years.

The new buildings would add two feet to each floor, reaching a height of 56 feet, while the current buildings only have a height of 48 feet. However, the 24-foot rooftop ventilation system will raise the building height to 80 feet, which could make the building appear six to eight stories tall.

The renovation plans will only add three new beds, for a total of 454, but the new parking structure would give access to more cars and allow for valet parking, according to hospital officials.

VA and Navy

break ground

on new hospital

CHICAGO – The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently broke ground on a $100 million joint Navy/VA hospital in Chicago. The first phase of construction is slated to include a $16 million parking garage and a new site entrance and intersection, which will allow for construction of a new ambulatory care center next year.

When completed, the hospital will provide care for almost 150,000 servicemen, veterans and dependents living in northern Illinois. The new facility is expected to open in 2010, with a total estimated cost of $130 million. The facility is expected to save $160 million during the 40-year lifespan of the facility.
Hospital seeks

community help

for $621 price tag

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – John Muir Health Foundation is asking the community to help foot the bill for its $621 million hospital expansion under way in Northern California. This is the first-ever capital campaign by the foundation, which typically raises between $3 million and $4 million a year for hospital equipment.

The foundation hopes to raise $40 million by December 2008 to help offset construction costs of the expansion project. If the foundation does not meet its targeted goals, it will extend the life of the construction schedule. Currently, construction is expected to be complete in 2011.

Cancer institute

to build surgical

center on site

DETROIT – The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute is no longer planning to purchase Detroit Riverview Hospital. Instead, the cancer center now plans to construct a new building on a campus it shares with the Detroit Medical Center.

Karmanos signed an agreement with Detroit-based Turner Construction Co. to build a structure with six operating rooms. Because of Michigan’s failing economy, however, Karmanos scaled back its initial $95 million hospital to a $47 million plan.

 

Michigan hospital

plans $220M

expansion

TROY, Mich. – Royal Oak, Mich.-based Optim has been hired to direct the $220 million expansion at Beaumont Hospital in Troy. Construction will include an emergency center addition, a critical care tower, an outpatient services center and a professional office building, as well as the addition of elevated walkways.

The project is expected to be completed in 2009, and the hospital hopes it will address the future needs of the facility, which experienced a 50 percent increase in admissions between 2000 and 2006.
Provena fighting

to stop Sherman’s

No. Illinois hospital

CHICAGO – Provena St. Joseph Hospital of Joliet, Ill., is still seeking to stop construction of a new 255-bed Sherman Health hospital under way in nearby Elgin, Ill. Attorneys for Provena have filed an appeal of a recent circuit court ruling that gave Sherman Health the green light to proceed with its proposed $310 million hospital.

The original lawsuit filed by Provena attempted to keep Sherman from building a new facility, which is located only 3.4 miles from Provena St. Joseph. Provena officials argue that their system would lose millions of dollars in lost revenue each year. For now, however, construction continues at Sherman’s future facility, which is expected to open in December 2009.

Residents fight

new hospital

with petition

DENISON, Iowa – More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to halt construction of a new Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison, in the western part of Iowa. Residents are complaining that the construction of a new hospital will be too costly, even if it does bring needed medical services to the area, such as a surgical center and more private beds. 

The petitioners claim that renovating the city’s current Crawford County hospital would save money while allowing the hospital to bring in the new services. However, plans for the new hospital continue to move forward.

For the Record

RehabCare Group, Inc. (NYSE:RHB) and two Central Illinois hospitals received approval for two projects that will bring post-acute healthcare services to the area. The hospitals received Certificates of Need (CON) on June 12… Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, wrapped up renovations last month, adding 435,000 square feet. McCarthy Building Cos. constructed the $94 million project, which includes a new main lobby, 16 operating rooms, a 32-bed intensive care unit, private patient rooms and other amenities. The original hospital was built in 1894.