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.

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.

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.

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.

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.