Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital expansion named Best North Bay Commercial Project
Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, at 30 Mark West Springs Road in Santa Rosa, reached capacity soon after it opened in 2014.
The surrounding community needed additional capacity and the space to pioneer innovative programs, technology, and innovations to meet growing regional healthcare needs. The solution was to build a new three-story, 58,000-square foot expansion wing, situated on the east side of the hospital, tied together on the first and second floors.
The new wing includes 40 more beds in all-private patient rooms, two operating rooms, one endoscopy and gastroenterology room, 20 intensive care unit beds, and 11 post-anesthesia care unit bays.
The new tower is fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology, down to the clocks at the nursing stations, which are all WiFi-enabled and connected to the world clock, said Jeffery Miller, chief engineer for Sutter Santa Rosa. The idea is to ensure precision in timing across all parts of a patient’s care, such as what time a doctor visited a patient or when a nurse administered medication.
Nursing staff also provided input during the early design phases, and their feedback was incorporated into the final product, said Matthew Boersma, construction manager at HerreroBOLDT, and senior project manager for Sutter Santa Rosa’s expansion.
One of the recommendations met was the installation of a second call button in each patient room, to be located on the wall just inside the door so when a patient inadvertently pushes the button, the nurse can disable it at the doorway
The expansion continued the hospital's sustainability sensibilities (the main hospital is LEED Gold certified), applying similar standards throughout design and construction.
Specific strategies include using clean energy sources: HVAC provides 100% fresh outside air (also proven to reduce infections in patients); and bioswales channel runoff water into landscaped areas for collection and natural filtering before entering the storm drain.
The expansion was the first California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) project to utilize a prefabricated, panelized exterior skin system, saving $1 million and three months on an already tight schedule, as well as reducing safety risks.
Built to withstand earthquakes with seismic supports on each floor functioning as shock absorbers as the building moves. Despite coordination and construction occurring during the pandemic, wildfires, and heat waves, each threatening to delay or halt construction, the project hit all scheduled targets.
To avoid disruption to ongoing patient care, the project team developed a phasing plan to avoid disruption to ongoing patient care, allowing departments and services to move in and safely occupy parts of the expansion wing while renovations were still underway.
This expansion served the community by donating leftover construction material to help the homeless, including exterior skin prefabricated mockups that were repurposed into a small sleeping unit that was added to a 5-acre San Francisco Impact retreat in Fort Bragg. This faith-based organization operates a rescue mission in the Tenderloin with a school, volunteer center and programs that serve the homeless, the elderly and needy families.
