What it took to build 327-bed Oak Pavilion at MarinHealth Medical Center
Since Marin General Hospital opened in 1952, the local county population has increased five-hold.
Later, when California enacted Senate Bill 1953 requiring all state hospitals to meet sweeping new earthquake compliance standards by 2030, plans were set in motion to build a new hospital for the North Bay.
Now known as the Oak Pavilion at the MarinHealth Medical Center, this new building at 250 Bon Air Road in Greenbrae was completed on Sept. 3, 2020.
Oak Pavilion is a 327-bed, 260,000-square-foot hospital replacement building (virtual tour), joining three others on the campus (the Cypress, Redwood and Cedar pavilions) and a staff parking structure.
“This was an incredibly complex project and it’s been amazing to see so many teams working with a shared sense of purpose, collaborating seamlessly on hundreds of interdependent tasks,” said Vernon Moreno, vice president of support services with the MarinHealth Medical Center.
The Emergency Department with its level III trauma center is now tripled in size, with larger treatment rooms, separate entrance and five trauma bays along with 20 private patient rooms – including negative pressure and decontamination rooms for highly infectious patients.
The intensive care unit (ICU) has 19 large private rooms each with its own bathroom. Imaging and radiology facilities are located next to the emergency and trauma department and below surgery and procedures, so emergency care can be expedited, officials said. Oak Pavilion also has a certified primary stroke center.
SP’s surgical suits are twice as large to fit the latest equipment and enable advanced surgeries. There are dual-use interventional suites for electrophysiology, cardiac catheterization and interventional radiology.
The Maternity Care Center has 15 labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms allowing mothers and babies to stay in the same place, as well as two side-by-side C-section procedure rooms, and a seven-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
All private adult rooms can be converted into positive pressure rooms. The hospital has separate hallways and elevators for infection control and to reduce traffic in public areas -- and also to protect patient privacy.
The hospital was planned to be green and sustainable to meet LEED standards. Low-emitting, environmentally friendly materials were selected including adhesives, sealants, paint and flooring. The Oak Pavilion was designed to use 51% less energy than the Cedar Pavilion. Stormwater runoff is captured and treated to decrease pollution.
