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.
Eden Medical Center received the Silver Medal of Honor from the Department of Health & Human Services for achieving national goals for organ and tissue donation for two consecutive years. Eden, the regional trauma center for Alameda County, works closely with the California Transplant Donor Network to identify possible candidates for organ and tissue donation, and in turn with families to ensure that their wishes are met.
The work of the many caregivers at Eden– including the Trauma Team, ICU, surgical team, respiratory care and social work services – is heart wrenching when a young life is taken. Their efforts on behalf of families and those in need or organ or tissue donation brings a sense of hope and the knowledge that many other lives can be saved or improved.
Read the entire story in this week’s Oakland Tribune.

Photo of the collapsed Cypress Overpass, courtesy of U.S. Geological Society.
by Cassandra Clark, Project Communications Director
This week we are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. The media will cover the remembrances, the progress we have made since then, the victims, the heroes.
Those of us who were around then have memories of this momentous event. My memories are perhaps much more vivid than most. That single event changed my life, changed my career, and ignited in me a passion for health care and the important work we do.
I had worked at Eden Hospital only 2 months when the earthquake hit. My boss was on vacation, camping in the desert far away from news of the quake, and I was a newbie just learning the ropes. I left work that day just before 5 to get home to meet some friends to watch the World Series. I was driving my VW convertible down Castro Valley Blvd. when the ground started shaking and the road before me started moving like a snake. I thought my tires were falling off and that the street lights above would fall on me! I drove the few minutes to get home, only to find the power out and the phones dead. So I headed back to the hospital to check in, as per our protocol
I didn’t leave the hospital for two days.
We had 42 patients from earthquake-related injuries that night in Emergency and Trauma. The worst were from the Cypress structure collapse in Oakland, brought to our Trauma Center. Not knowing the details, I went first to the Emergency Room, where I sat and listened to one young man talk about leaving his car on the collapsed upper portion of the freeway, climbing down the side of the concrete rubble, and then calling his mom to pick him up. He had an injury to his mouth and was shaken, but he told us the details of what happened. I still remember his face, his name, the shocking details of his story. The TV in the corner of the waiting room was showing news coverage from Oakland and San Francisco, and I got word out to the hospital staff so they would know what was happening.
We set up the Command Center sometime later. Soon, the reporters started showing up and the media calls poured in from all over the country, all over the world. Gloria, my co-worker, and I gathered information from every department, and talked to patients and families. As the spokesperson for the hospital, I conducted interviews for the next two days and, as it turned out, for many months that followed. I was so tired at 4 a.m. when Harry Smith from CBS New York called that I could hardly get the words out. It wasn’t my best interview, but I was new at this! We tried our hardest to keep all the information straight: how many patients, where they were from, what their injuries were. We had calls from families trying to find loved ones. We had calls from local residents wanting to know how to help. Reporters from other parts of the country were under the impression that the entire SF Bay Area was reduced to rubble, and they wondered how we could even take care of patients.
Over the next several days, I got to know so many of the patients and their stories. Some did interviews, some just wanted to talk privately. Some couldn’t talk, their injuries were so severe the nurses didn’t think they would survive. Two patients from one van on the Cypress freeway were the most severely injured, but they survived, and I remember them and their stories as if it were yesterday. I met their families and got to know them over the next six months or so. And I saw the incredible care that Eden Medical Center’s staff provided. The doctors, the nurses, the respiratory therapists, physical therapists, social workers: all of them played such an important role in their medical and emotional care.
It was because of this experience that I knew that I was in the right place, that the mission and purpose of our organization was alive and carried out in the most complex, and the simplest, ways. We all made a difference, and we were all here for one reason: to take care of the people who need us in the most critical times. It didn’t matter what our role was, we all had a responsibility to take care of them and their families. I didn’t check vitals or change dressings, but i could spend time with each of them, help them process what had happened, help them tell their stories if they wanted. I could help their families and our staff with simple things to make their lives there easier.
A year later, we held a press conference with a couple of the patients who survived, along with their doctors and nurses. It was an emotionally charged event, before and after the conference, for one patient in particular. The memories were so vivid and frightening, but she wanted, or perhaps needed, to talk about it, to see the trauma surgeon and staff, to process what had happened. Years later I saw her and her colleague on a PBS special, talking about their lives since the earthquake. My heart ached, and still does, for the pain they endured. Their lives were never the same. I don’t know where they are now, but I still think of them, pray for them, and wonder if they were able to persevere.
Five years after the earthquake, I met a woman who came into the hospital to give birth to twin boys. She, too, was severely injured in the earthquake and came to our trauma center that night. She had such severe abdominal injuries that she was told later by her doctor that she would not be able to have children. But life had other plans for her. On this day, October 17, 1994 — the 5th anniversary of the quake — she gave birth to her “miracle” boys. The trauma surgeon who saved her life 5 years earlier assisted in the delivery. They are 15 now, and I wonder if they know how incredible their story is.
These stories, and many others, are on my mind as we approach the 20th anniversary of the quake. It amazes me how much our lives are intertwined by such an event. And how each person I met has their own memories, and their own scars.
I am also grateful for the experience, for all that I learned as a result, and for finding my passion in my career. Today, as I work with the Project Team to build a new hospital, I am reminded why this project is so important. I am proud of the tradition of care at Eden, and proud to be working toward construction of a new hospital so that the tradition can continue for many years to come.
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.
For Immediate Release
CASTRO VALLEY, CA – July 1, 2009 – It’s official-construction of the new Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley to replace Eden Medical Center has begun. At a groundbreaking ceremony today, Eden employees, physicians, volunteers, officials from Sutter Health, and local business and government agencies commemorated the start of a three-year project to replace the 55-year -hospital with a modern, seismically safe $320 million facility. This will be the first new medical center in Alameda County to be built in compliance with the State of California earthquake safety law SB 1953.
“We are all pleased to see construction begin,” said George Bischalaney, President & CEO of Eden Medical Center. “Our hospital has served this community well for nearly 55 years, and with Sutter Health we will continue our tradition of quality medical care for another 50 years.
“When we celebrate the grand opening of the new hospital in 2013, it will be with the same hopes and dreams as those who celebrated the first ceremony in 1954.”
“These are difficult economic times for individuals, business and government, and for hospitals too,” commented Pat Fry, President & CEO of Sutter Health at the groundbreaking ceremony. Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to do everything we want according to our desired time frame.”
“Given the difficult decisions we face as a not-for-profit health care network on how to invest our limited resources in new construction, I’m very pleased to be able to convey to you that Sutter Health is fully committed to completing this important project for the people of this community.
“Our organization has invested more than $200 million in Eden Medical Center since 1997, and rebuilding the campus means an additional investment of $400 million. When we open this new medical center and place it in the hands of an outstanding medical staff and a dedicated and talented group of employees and volunteers, I have no doubt we are going to take health care to far greater levels.”
Visible Signs of Progress
Following approval of the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) and issuance of construction permits by the County of Alameda last month, contractors have begun site preparation for construction, including foundation for the seven-story, 130-bed hospital and relocation of the helipad. Contractors will pour the foundations and begin building the steel structure this summer and fall — before the start of the rainy season — in order to move quickly to meet the State’s 2013 seismic compliance deadline. The project is expected to generate more than 1,000 construction jobs over the next three years.
“A construction project of this size represents a significant infusion of capital in the local community and will bring economic vitality to the area, both in new jobs and in support of local businesses that will be a part of this project,” added Bischalaney.
Construction fencing has been installed around the perimeter of the site. Crews also began clearing the site for relocation of the helipad. The new landing site is approximately 150 feet north of the present location, as close as possible to the Trauma Center. Grading of the new helipad site begins on July 2, and will take up to two weeks to complete.
Deconstruction of the vacant Pine Cone Apartments on Stanton Avenue has already begun. The structure of the building was demolished on July 1 and it will take about two full weeks to break down and remove the debris.
Meeting California’s Earthquake Standards
California’s hospital seismic safety law, SB 1953, which passed in 1994, requires every hospital in California to meet specific building safety criteria that would keep hospital structures standing and provide uninterrupted care following a major earthquake. The deadline for complying with SB 1953 is January 1, 2013. Under the stringent earthquake safety requirements, Eden Medical Center is not eligible to be licensed as an acute care hospital after January 1, 2013.
Therefore Sutter Health has invested in the continuation of essential health care services through the new hospital that will replace Eden, including the Emergency Department, Trauma Center, Neuroscience Center, maternity and other medical and surgical services.
Daily video updates on the progress of construction will be available at www.suttermedicalcentercastrovalley.org, starting July 16. The public can post comments or questions about construction on the groundbreaking, or by calling (510) 727-8280.
The highly anticipated decision by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to approve construction of the new hospital in Castro Valley has been closely followed by Bay Area media. Read more about the outcome of the June 9th meeting and the issues raised in our communities. We welcome your comments under the SMCCV blog post on June 11th, as well as on our social networks (click on social network links on the right column)…
County Supervisors Meet on New Eden Hospital Proposal
CastroValleyForum.com—By: Staff Reports : 6/9/09 OAKLAND—Alameda County Supervisors were still in session late Tuesday afternoon and, by The Forum’s press deadline …
Potential conflicts raised before panel decides hospital’s future
Tri Valley Herald – Jun 9, 2009
By Karen Holzmeister SAN LEANDRO – In his professional life, former surgeon Rajendra Ratnesar is a Sutter Health employee, working as medical director for …
Businessman woos San Leandro Hospital supporters
Daily Review Online – Jun 9, 2009
By Karen Holzmeister—The Eden Township Healthcare District board of directors,left to right, Harry Dvorsky, Rajendra Ratnesar, Vin Sawhney, Carole Rogers …
Officials Explain Plans for San Leandro Hospital Eden, county …
By San Leandro Times – Jun 10, 2009—Cars had to be parked blocks away and stacks of extra chairs were put out as the district heard presentations from Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) as well as a new contender, Prime Healthcare Services. More …
The Citizen: Supes Approve Eden EIR; Miley urges Hospital Owners …
June 10, 2009
By Steven Tavares—Sutter Health is closer to breaking ground on their new $400 million hospital at Eden Medical Center. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the long-awaited final environmental impact report (FEIR) Tuesday …
Pleasanton Weekly Supervisors OK plan to rebuild Eden Medical …
Jun 10, 2009 – Supervisors OK plan to rebuild Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley New hospital to be renamed Sutter Medical would open in 2013 …
‘Do the right thing’ regarding San Leandro Hospital, health panel …
Jun 11, 2009 – Daily Review Online – CA, USA … favor of an Alameda County-operated rehabilitation unit and urgent-care center, as urged by Sutter Health, which now leases and operates the hospital…
Entire Eden Healthcare Board Advised of Conflict of Interest
SECOND EDEN TOWNSHIP HEARING DRAWS LARGE NUMBERS
Thursday, June 11, 2009—An already confusing and critical decision making process is taking a turn for the worst in backroom politics…
Alameda Supervisors OK Eden’s $320M rebuild in Castro Valley
San Francisco Business Times – by Chris Rauber
June 12, 2009 – Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley won approval from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to move forward with its $320 million seismic rebuild late Tuesday …

By Cassandra Clark, Project Communications Director
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!
We are only a week away from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors hearing in which the Board will consider the Final Environmental Impact Report, zoning changes, and Castro Valley general plan changes. We are asking for your support at this critical step.
Local groups and some residents of San Leandro are applying fierce political pressure on the Board members to deny approval. Their reason? The future of San Leandro Hospital is unknown, and therefore they are pressuring the Board of Supervisors to require Sutter Health to keep San Leandro Hospital open as a condition of approving the land use for the new hospital in Castro Valley.
What wrong with this? First of all, the Board of Supervisors are not voting on the future of San Leandro Hospital—they are having a public hearing on the land use entitlements and certifying the EIR. To delay or deny approval based on pressure about San Leandro is wrong.
The future of San Leandro Hospital is not and should not be tied to the new hospital. Indeed, San Leandro Hospital is a critical issue that must be addressed—and it requires a regional solution, more careful planning, and a separate focus than this project. It’s an important issue that cannot be overlooked, for the sake of the staff, physicians and patients. But the complex issues at one hospital should not be tied to the land use entitlements for the new hospital project.
Simply stated, by delaying plans for the new hospital, the Board will jeopardize the future of Eden AND San Leandro hospitals.
I am asking you to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting on May 12 and SPEAK UP in favor of our new hospital. Speakers are limited to 3 minutes, but a simple 30-second statement is powerful. The Board needs to know that residents of Castro Valley and surrounding communities want and need this new hospital, without delays.
Meeting details:
Tuesday, May 12
1:00 p.m.
Board of Supervisors Meeting Chambers
1221 Oak Street, Oakland
If you cannot attend the meeting, we need to you to contact the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and have you voice your opinion. It is so important that the Board hears from everyone, especially since the majority of people in our community support this project (an astounding 80% of community members are in favor according to recent polls!).
Call your Supervisors today!
Supervisor Nate Miley — 510-272-6694
Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker — 510-272-6693
Supervisor Gail Steele — 510-272-6692
Supervisor Keith Carson — 510-272-6695
Supervisor Scott Haggerty — 510-272-6691
Thank you for your continued support!
As always, we also appreciate your comments and questions on this blog, and we’ll respond as quickly as possible.
The new Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley, which will replace Eden Hospital.
Photo of 2008 FIATECH CETI Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Cassandra Clark
Project Communications Director
Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley
Cell: (510) 305-6262
Cathryn Hrudicka and Shelly Gordon
CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. — May 4, 2009 — Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley (SMCCV), the new hospital that will replace Eden Medical Center, won the 2008 FIATECH CETI award, presented to the design team in April.
FIATECH is a consortium within the building industry that provides global leadership in the implementation of new methodologies and technologies to deliver the highest value for commercial construction projects. The CETI award recognized the SMCCV project team for its innovative approach and use of technologies to design and plan construction of the new hospital in an accelerated timeframe.
To comply with California legislation requiring that by 2013 every hospital meet construction criteria to withstand a major earthquake, SMCCV has approximately five years to build the new hospital and open its doors for business, two years less than the time it typically takes for a project of this magnitude.
According to Digby Christian, senior project manager for SMCCV, “To drive two years out of the schedule the team had to abandon the conventional concepts of designing and planning, and come together as a wide-ranging, multi-company team involving SMCCV, and the designers and builders, and transform the design and construction process.
“The team is now on track to achieve the 2013 goal and we did it primarily by redesigning the design process itself in a rigorous and unrelenting fashion so that it no longer bears any real resemblance to the traditional process.”
Two key strategies made it possible to shore up the SMCCV construction timeline—and win the FIATECH CETI award. First, with the goal of designing for fabrication, SMCCV assembled all construction trades involved in the project to have them participate in the design process upfront and arrive at the shop drawing stage together. These drawings tell in detail how every element in the building will be fabricated, then located, i.e., steel, concrete, plumbing, air-conditioning, light fixtures, cabinetry, etc.
The second strategy was to have a working design of the hospital in three dimensions, allowing individual contractors to each use their own preferred modeling software and then developing a process to integrate the various renderings that ensures that what is being designed is actually what will be built on schedule, within budget and without any last minute compromises on the finished product.
“While this concept has been discussed for the last few years within the industry and parts of this new approach have been implemented in other projects, no building construction project has carried out this concept as broadly and deeply for a project as complex as SMCCV,” added Christian.
“On the Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley project we have designed for fabrication a building that has been fully reviewed for pricing and constructability before construction ever starts. We are breaking new ground ahead of any other project in the country in the way such projects are handled.”
About Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley
Sutter Health will fund the development and construction of this state-of-the-art hospital on the Eden Medical Center campus in Castro Valley. This is the largest investment for a healthcare facility in central Alameda County, totaling nearly $400 million, to meet the state’s stringent earthquake safety mandate. Sutter Health’s investment includes the construction of the new hospital, medical office building, campus improvements and the deconstruction of the old hospital once services are transferred to the new facility. The existing medical center will remain open during construction, with minimal disruption to services. Sutter Health has committed to the continuation of essential health care services in the new hospital, including the Emergency Department, Trauma Center, Neuroscience Center, maternity and other medical and surgical care.
# # #
Please see the Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley blog post about this award for further information.
SAN LEANDRO
WHEN IT COMES to patient safety in hospitals, egos should — and do — head out the door, internist and geriatrics specialist Steven Rosenthal says.
Members of the operating team should speak up if something doesn’t seem right as the surgeon goes over a pre-surgery checklist, he says, and nurses and pharmacists should question prescriptions if they suspect a mistake has been made.
And, the 30-year physician notes, the safety net has been improved with the use of electronic health records. In issuing prescriptions online, the legibility of a doctor’s handwriting is no longer an issue, he says with a smile.
Rosenthal, current chief of staff of the 500 physicians affiliated with San Leandro Hospital and Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, now has been recognized for going above and beyond in advocating patient safety.
Last month, Rosenthal, 57, of Oakland received the hospitals’ Physician Patient Safety Champion award for 2008.
The physicians and more than 1,500 employees at the hospitals can vote monthly for doctors who demonstrate excellence in a dozen categories related to patient quality and safety. During 2008, Rosenthal was nominated in six of 12 categories, receiving more nominations than any other physician.
Categories include communication, hand hygiene, critical conversations, grace under pressure and reconciliation of medical questions.
During an interview in his San Leandro office, Rosenthal downplayed his individual contributions to patient safety, and cited the teamwork among hospital employees and doctors. Rosenthal said he voted for people “who could communicate, were patient, and listened and spoke in plain language, in a respectful and informative manner.”
The same was said of Rosenthal, whom George Bischalaney, the hospitals’ chief executive officer, described as “consistently having the patients’ best interests at heart, while treating everyone on the care team with respect and appreciation.”
Rosenthal received his medical training at UC Davis and served his residency at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
His goal in treating senior citizens, Rosenthal said, is to help them remain active and to have “vibrant, life-affirming experiences,” despite limitations. He sees his patients daily when they are hospitalized. He said his major post-hospitalization concern is tracking all medications that may be prescribed by different doctors.
On Saturdays, Senior Journal spotlights remarkable local seniors, issues that are important to them, organizations that are there to help, or activities they enjoy. If you know of an interesting Hayward-area senior, important issue, or effective organization, please e-mail ksantos@bayareanewsgroup.com, call 510-293-2468, write us at 22533 Foothill Blvd., Hayward, CA 94541, or send a fax to 510-293-2490.










