Demolition Dust Settles

Surgery Center and OB Unit rise out of the ground as $50 million construction progresses

REDLANDS, CA - What started as a vision on paper when Redlands Community Hospital developed a 25-year Master Plan in 2000, is becoming reality as the earthquake-proof foundation is completed and steel starts taking form above ground in the construction project that began in July, 2005. The hospital's new $50 million, three-story, Surgery Center and Maternal/Child Services Building is becoming more visible as the framework appears.

Often referred to as the Phase II building in the three-phase Master Plan, it has taken the past five years to go through the various review processes prior to construction, including architectural design, plan approvals through the City of Redlands, a lengthy plan check with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and completion of bond financing.

“There is only one other kind of building construction that goes through a more lengthy and strict review process than a hospital, and that is a nuclear power plant,” stated RCH President and CEO Jim Holmes. “Every aspect of the new building plans meets the highest standards.”

In the meantime, the hospital relocated several departments and services from the area where the new building would be constructed. It required the demolition of older portions of the hospital which stood on the site of the future building. These areas dated back to 1929. Non-clinical services which have been in those areas since the early 1980s were moved to other buildings on the hospital campus, including the new Weisser Education Pavilion which was completed in April 2005. Demolition of the older buildings began in late May and concluded on the day of groundbreaking.

Now the hospital can move forward with construction of the long-awaited 71,000 sq. ft. three-story Surgery Center and Maternal/Child Services Building.

The first floor of the building will be home to a new state-of-the-art surgery center which features eight surgical suites. Each suite will be larger than the previous surgery rooms in order to accommodate advanced technology, including robotics and other equipment.

“As we move toward doing more minimally-invasive types of surgery, we are adding more laparoscopic equipment, computers, cameras, monitors, x-ray equipment and other specialized technology in every suite,” explained Kris Padrick, Director of Surgery. “RCH surgery staff, surgeons and I studied this extensively and custom-designed the entire surgery center for maximum efficiency, safety and quality patient care. We are excited to see the construction begin.”

Other features of the surgery center include customized nursing modules, an anesthesia room, a central sterile supply area, 18-bed recovery area, and physician consultation rooms. Patients and visitors enter the lobby and waiting areas directly from the front parking lot. Two visitor elevators and two patient elevators connect the three floors. A landscaped courtyard will be located between the surgery center and the existing hospital building, providing a pleasing outdoor setting.

The second and third floors will be home to Maternal/Child Services and feature additional beds to accommodate more mothers and babies and an enlarged Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The hospital has been averaging more than 200 births per month and the hospital expects that number to continue increasing due to additional housing developments throughout the East Valley.

The second floor will include ten family-centered birthing rooms for labor, delivery, and recovery, a substantially larger Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with 16 NICU beds, two Cesarean Section surgery suites, and three special labor rooms.

The third floor will feature 24 postpartum beds for recovering mothers and their babies. “The new postpartum rooms were designed to accommodate our new Couplet Care Model which emphasizes keeping the baby in the room with the mother and family members more,” stated Pam Erickson, Director of Maternal/Child Services. “This enables a stronger bonding between mother and baby. Keeping them together has proven to be very beneficial during the newborn’s first few days of life. It also helps the family members in their transition to having a new baby at home.”

A larger newborn nursery on the third floor will care for babies when they are not in the room with the mother. There is also a conference and education room on the third floor for nurse training and pre-natal classes.

Redlands Community Hospital just celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004 and now looks forward to the future. “Hospital care was just an infant in this community in 1904 when a group of Redlands physicians realized the need for a hospital,” stated Jim Holmes during the groundbreaking ceremony. “The next 100 years will have new challenges, but will also bring more advanced technology, new drugs, improved cures, and innovative prevention methods. All of these revolutions will improve the human condition.”

“The hospital has set an ambitious goal to build the hospital of the future with our 25-year Master Plan,” continued Holmes. “While many other hospitals are struggling financially to keep their doors open, RCH has a strong footing. Last year, our emergency department treated more than 37,000 patients, we performed 6,000 surgeries, 13,000 people stayed in the hospital and we delivered nearly 2,400 babies. In addition, the hospital provides more than $6 million in uncompensated charity care to needy people in our area and offers low-cost or no-cost care to the uninsured at our family clinics located in Yucaipa and Redlands.”

Completion of the new building construction is estimated to occur in Spring 2007.

After the OB department moves into the new building, the second floor of the existing hospital will be remodeled for medical and surgical care, bringing the hospital’s total number of patient beds up to 210 from the current 172 beds. Radiology and other services will expand into the area previously occupied by surgery.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

By Jane Dreher, Redlands Community Hospital