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.
Our hospital construction project has passed the one-year mark since the groundbreaking ceremony on July 1, 2009. The project has progressed rapidly in that time, just as work behind the scenes has progressed to plan for the programs, services and technology for the new building.
A significant effort is underway to involve the employees, volunteers, physicians and community in supporting the new hospital through philanthropy. We sat down with Jack Alotto, president of the Eden Medical Center Foundation, to find out more about their fund-raising efforts.
Why philanthropy?
Philanthropy is a way for the public to invest in our new hospital. And we take that investment seriously. The Foundation represents a unique stakeholder in the new hospital. Our donors are our shareholders, so to speak, and they tell us how they want us to invest their money. We give them that right. No matter what amount they give, they tell us where they want that money to go, whether for Trauma Services or Neuroscience or any other program, service or equipment.
Philanthropy enables a broad section of community to have a partnership stake in a new facility. In other words, here is Sutter Health giving, in essence, a gift to the community by funding $320 million for its construction. And now the community can partner with Sutter Health to bring that gift to life, to direct funds programs and services that the community decides it needs. In this way, philanthropy unites Sutter Health with the community to meet the community’s health care needs. That’s an exciting thing to do.
What is the Foundation’s role in making the new hospital a reality?
We have pledged $12.8 million toward equipment and technology in the new building. All of that money is going to advance patient care. That’s our goal, and that is our board’s pledge to hospital administration.
It is very important to me that we get more and more people involved at whatever level they are comfortable, whether it’s the Eden Hospital Auxiliary recent donation of $500,000 or a $20 gift from a grateful patient. We are all a part of this effort.
Right now, the People of Eden – the leaders, the physicians, the employees – have already pledged more than $1 million. The most gratifying part of my work is meeting with employees, seeing the commitment and personal support for the care we give. Every one of Eden’s leaders has already made a gift, and I would love to see 100% commitment from the employees and physicians as well. Our employees can inspire the community to invest as well, so we will all have a say in the hospital’s future.
Where can we learn more about the Eden Medical Center Foundation?
You can visit us on the hospital Website, call us at (510) 889-5033, or we can meet with groups and individuals to explore how to become a partner in care.
by George Bischalaney, President & CEO
Every year on this date, May 6, we celebrate the good work of our nurses as part of National Nurses Week, a time set aside to raise awareness of the value of nursing and help educate the public about the role nurses play in meeting the health care needs of the American people.
At Eden Medical Center, we have nearly 700 registered nurses working at our Eden and San Leandro campuses. These amazing people aren’t just faces in a crowd or numbers on a chart. These are men and women who are called to a career of caring for others. In their own lives, they are mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, family caregivers, coaches. Here at Eden Medical Center, they are heroes.
My office is located on the first floor of Eden Medical Center, just across the hallway from the Intensive Care Unit waiting room. Every day I am here, I see families concerned about the well-being of their loved ones. Some are encouraged, some are grieving, some stop to talk about their experience at out hospital. And I never take for granted the fact that every person has entrusted their lives to our caregivers. I take comfort that the men and women who are caring for our patients, in any area of our hospitals, are skilled, compassionate people who want the very best for our patients and families.
So, on this day, I want to take pause and thank our nurses for all they do. Their work is never easy. It is complex, highly detailed, often exhausting, and so critical to the lives around them. They have a sense of purpose and a capacity for caring that drives them to give of themselves every day. What a remarkable calling.
Thank you, to all of our nurses, for all that you do for us.
Topping Off Ceremony Celebrates the Achievements of the Construction Teams
Workers shake hands at teh top of the structural steel following placement of the signed beam
For the past week, the sun was shining brightly as Eden Medical Center employees, physicians, volunteers, patients and community members stopped at the construction site to sign the celebratory steel beam. The construction teams were on site working in perfect weather to keep the construction project on pace. At the end of each day, many took the opportunity to add their signatures to the crossbeam that would be hoisted to fit in the last spot at the highest structural point of the steel structure.
By Tuesday morning, the rain and wind returned, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of everyone who gathered for to mark the special occasion. About 200 people gathered under cover of the parking garage to congratulate the construction teams, sign the beam and cheer as the beam was lifted into place.
The American flag was paced atop the beam prior to liftoff
As is the tradition in the construction industry, the Topping Off Ceremony marks the moment when the highest structural point in the building construction has been attained. The last steel beam is signed and hoisted into place. An evergreen tree and US flag are placed on the beam to symbolize that the building project has proceeded well, with a clean safety record, and to bring good fortune to the future inhabitants of the building.
Eden Anesthesiologist Dr. Frank Rico, former EMC board member, checks out the signatures after adding his name to the beam
Eden Medical Center CEO George Bischalaney welcomed the crowd and thanked them for supporting the efforts. He stated that this milestone was as significant to the community as it was to the construction teams, as the dream of a new hospital becomes reality. DPR Construction executive George Hurley thanked the steelworkers and every contractor on the job for their great work, and commended Sutter Health Project Director Digby Christian for keeping the project moving forward.
We’ll post more information about the trades and the next steps in the project soon. Let us know if you have questions or comments for any member of the Project Team.
Topping Off Ceremony on April 27
The construction of the new Sutter hospital is quickly reaching another major milestone. On Tuesday, April 27, we will have our Topping Off Ceremony at the site at 10:00 a.m. We invite our employees, physicians, volunteers, neighbors and friends to join us for this special event.
The topping off ceremony is a tradition within the construction industry that marks the moment when the highest structural point in the building construction has been attained. The last steel beam is signed and hoisted into place. An evergreen tree and US flag are placed on the beam to symbolize that the building project has proceeded well and safely, and to bring good fortune to the future inhabitants of the building.
You can also be a part of history in the making!
Join us at one of the dates and times below to add your signature to the steel beam that will be affixed to the top of the steel tower. The beam will be located inside the construction parking zone across from the Emergency entrance, with convenient public parking in the nearby garage. Our staff will be on hand with markers at these time:
Friday, April 23
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
2:30 – 4:00 p.m.
Monday, April 26
7:00 -9:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
2:30 – 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 27
7:00 – 9:00 a.m.
You may also sign the memorial book that will be placed in a time capsule for the new building. If you miss our beam signing, the book will be available all year at various events for signatures and messages.
Our thanks to DPR Construction and every worker on the project for bringing us one step closer to a new hospital.
Courtesy of DPR Construction
This week the sun is shining on the project site as crews work on the most critical part of the project: the sheerwalls. The fast pace of the steel erection has made the project visible from the surrounding communities and helped the new hospital entrance take shape:
The steel erection for the main patient tower was done quickly enough to allow a two-week break for more steel production while crews work on the exterior sheerwalls. Below is the first wall completed last week:
From a distance, the steel tower overshadows the detailed work that takes place throughout the site. Here, a welder works to weld the edge steel to the deck beams:
We’ll take a closer look at the workers in our future blogs. In the meantime, let us know if you have any questions or comments for the Project Team, staff or hospital leaders.
by Cassandra Clark, Project Communications Director
Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley is still under construction, but it is already earning international recognition. The project’s social media program is the winner of the 2009 Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) Excellence in New Communications Award for External Communications & Communities in the Nonprofit Division.
The honors were shared with developers Creative Sage/Cathryn Hrudicka & Associates and G2 Communications, Inc., social media strategy and communications consultants.
The award winners were announced at the 4th Annual SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards gala at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley is a $320 million construction project to replace Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley.
The Society for New Communications Research Awards program honors innovative organizations that are pioneering the use of social media, ICT, mobile media, online communities, and collaborative technologies in the areas of media, marketing, public relations, advertising, entertainment, education, politics and social initiatives.
“The Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley social media program has been precedent-setting in the health care field. It has included using a variety of social media tools—a blog site with a Webcam, video, architectural renderings and other multimedia content, plus popular social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FriendFeed and YouTube—to engage the community in open discussion about the design and construction of a new hospital,” said Project Communications Director Cassandra Clark. “We set out to reach new audiences and involve them in our process, and we discovered new ways to have conversations between the public and the project team, including the architects, engineers and president of the hospital. It’s a major shift in how we communicate, and we are seeing positive results.”
SNCR Senior Fellow Albert Maruggi nominated the Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley Social Media Project, the first social media project of its kind undertaken by Sutter Health as a pilot program, for the award.
Business author Shel Israel, who is also a Senior SNCR Fellow and Advisory Board member, included the story of the Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley social media project in his recently published book, Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods (pp. 103-105), and agreed with Mr. Maruggi that the SMCCV project could qualify for a SNCR Award. They both remarked that they “loved the story” and found this social media outreach project to be “unique, a first of its kind” as a health care community advocacy program.
“Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley’s social media program is an impressive example of the successful and innovative use of new tools, technologies, solutions and practices to enhance communications and relationships,” commented Jen McClure, founder and president of the Society.
A list of winners and all the winning case studies submitted to this year’s SNCR awards program have been published on the Society’s website.
by George Bischalaney
President & CEO, Eden Medical Center
National health care reform is now apparently right around the corner. After years of discussion, and more recently, weeks of debate in the House of Representatives, legislative action is now in the hands of the Senate. If enacted, it will be the most significant health care legislation in decades.
As a provider, it is both welcomed and feared. Welcomed in that it will help bring insurance to millions of people for whom it is now out of reach. In making this possible, it creates the possibility of opening doors for routine health care services that should help prevent late diagnosis of disease, which becomes problematic and costly to treat. From our perspective as a hospital provider, better access should redirect many people who use our emergency departments as their primary care providers.
But change comes with a cost. The mind-numbing price tag of reform is expected to be offset by future savings. In the short term, it will require shifting payments currently dedicated to the Medicare program.
Most hospital providers do not make a profit in caring for Medicare patients overall. There is no doubt that we need to drive inefficiencies out of the health care system in order to help address this issue. But that alone may not do it. When costs are rising at a rate of 4-8 percent per year and reimbursement is 3 percent or less, we are constantly falling behind. There are many reasons for escalating costs. Consider the constant introduction of new drugs, high tech and high-cost diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, and of course labor. Health care is a service business and 60% of hospital costs can be tied to salaries and benefits. The cost escalation of these items alone will keep us chasing the elusive break-even point. And once there, if achieved, there is still ongoing capital investment that is necessary to maintain the capabilities expected of community hospitals.
The final package is likely still months away. Even then, it will take time to analyze and truly understand the effects, positive and negative, of this landmark movement. We hope that the final outcome will have the proper balance, consider as much as possible all the consequences, and result in a healthier and more stable provider system.
I welcome your feedback.
Sutter Medical Center Faces Costly Delay, Loss of Construction Jobs as State Deadline Looms
The California Nurses Association (CNA) has filed a lawsuit that threatens the future of the new Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley now under construction.
“That the nurses union would sue to stop us from building our new hospital after a decade of planning is extremely frustrating to our employees, physicians, volunteers and patients who have worked so hard and so long for this,” said Eden Medical Center President & CEO George Bischalaney. “This political action by the union hurts everyone, puts thousands of jobs in jeopardy, threatens the future of the hospital and could cause irreparable harm to the community.
“This type of action drives up the cost of health care for everyone. After an exhaustive and inclusive public process, the union’s lawsuit could mean will not be able to meet the State’s 2013 deadline to replace the Eden hospital. Not meeting the deadline could result in closure of current hospital before the new hospital is completed and certified for occupancy.”
The Environmental Impact Report and land use entitlements were approved by the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council, the Alameda County Planning Commission and Alameda County Board of Supervisors. The first phase of construction has been approved by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Alameda County granted necessary permits and construction started July 1.
The new medical campus will create more than a 1,000 union jobs during the three years of construction and pump millions of dollars into the local economy benefiting many local businesses.
Construction crews demolished the vacant Pine Cone Apartment complex and began relocating the helipad and are readying the site for the foundation of the $320 million, seven-story, 130-bed hospital and regional trauma center. The new medical center will expand needed emergency and urgent care services. A new 80,000-square-foot medical office building for physicians is also planned. Sutter Health is financing the entire project with no public taxes or funding.
Sutter has invested more than $200 million in capital in Eden Medical Center’s facilities since acquiring the hospital from the Eden Township Healthcare District in 1998. The new hospital and medical office buildings would bring this investment in the regional medical campus and trauma center to more than $600 million by 2013.
Employees enjoy the Groundbreaking Ceremony
By George Bischalaney, President & CEO, Eden Medical Center
It’s finally begun! Twelve years of planning, ten years of actively working, and finally, ground was broken on Wednesday July 1, 2009, for the new hospital on the Eden Medical Center campus. It has been an extraordinary effort by so many to get us here. Persistence, patience and untiring efforts have paid off.
The first phase of work involves relocation of the helipad, a necessary step to clear the way for development of the hospital and medical office building. It will be challenging throughout and very difficult at times.
The immediate impact is loss of on-campus parking. Not a lot, but unfortunately in a place where it is needed. This work is occurring adjacent to the Emergency and Trauma Services entry points. Ambulance bays remain accessible and the existing helicopter landing site remains functional throughout this phase. Parking for patients and visitors is affected and will be relocated a couple of times as work progresses.
Already there is activity in other areas of the broader construction zone. An apartment building facing Stanton Avenue was reduced to rubble in a matter of two days. The neighborhood is experiencing the onset of three years of traffic associated with the project, as debris is removed and equipment and supplies arrive.
Work was temporarily interrupted and the worksite cleaned up for a brief but well received ceremonial groundbreaking event on July 1. Employees, physicians, the project team and Eden Medical Center as well as Sutter Health leadership officially christened the site with the photo-op tossing of dirt. It was an exciting moment for those who have waited to so long for this day.
As the work progresses, our official site for tracking the work will keep those who check in up to date. And coming July 20, there will even be a webcam for viewing the work as it proceeds.
Let us know if you have any questions or comments.
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