by George Bischalaney
President & CEO, Eden Medical Center

One year later: the hospital is taking shape

The first of this month marked one year since the celebratory groundbreaking for construction of the new hospital in Castro Valley. Passing this one-year milestone is worthy of a little reflection on the long journey to get here.

The concept of a new hospital first surfaced in the late 1990s, brought about by legislation created as a result of the Northridge earthquake that damaged several hospitals to the point that patients and staff were endangered and operations were curtailed. In California, and perhaps more so in the Bay Area, such a danger needed to be remedied.

Stimulated by the new State requirements, Eden Medical Center soon came to the conclusion that a replacement facility was a much better long-term investment for the community than complex and costly repairs and retrofitting. With the building being nearly 50 years old at the time, and the delivery of hospital services dramatically changed from the 1950s when Eden Hospital was originally designed, it was the easy decision to make. Financing the project was another matter.

Gratefully, the commitment of Sutter Health allows us to be where we are today. After many years of planning, with stops and starts in trying to find the right plan, the right place, the right size at the right cost, our new hospital project was funded, and site work began right away.

Our goal remains to have the new hospital open by 2013 in order to meet Claifornia seismic safety requirements. It will be a remarkable building itself, an icon on the hill in Castro Valley that will be a source of pride for the entire area. More important, it will be here to take care of people when they need it most, and certainly when that long-anticipated earthquake strikes the Bay Area, perhaps on our own Hayward Fault. While hoping that never occurs, we will be ready and capable of safely continuing care for our community.