Hospital rebuilding estimated to cost $314M
ST. JOHN’S HOSPITAL — After more than a decade of planning and constructing, officials and religious leaders gave their blessing on Thursday to a new hospital that will open by December.
The north pavillion at Saint John’s Health Center was blessed by Cardinal Roger Mahony and several local priests in a special community mass. About 500 people attended the outdoor ceremony and garden party to celebrate the completion of the 200,000-square-foot structure. The building is just the first phase of an extensive rebuilding plan begun after the 1994 Northridge earthquake severely damaged the hospital. The replacement hospital will be the only one on the westside with a state-of-the-art base isolation system that allows the facility to remain fully operational if another earthquake hits, up to a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale.
Thursday’s blessing was the kick-off of many planned celebrations for the facility’s completion. There will be a gala dinner for donors, hospital board and community members, volunteers and staff next Friday. The official dedication is scheduled for Oct. 7, when California First Lady Maria Shriver will be the honored guest.
Shriver, who is married to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, delivered her children at Saint John’s Health Care Center.
“It’s a milestone event for us and we are delighted at the turnout,” said Bruce Lamoureux, CEO of Saint John’s, adding that blessings from the religious community is common practice at the health center. “This is a customary ritual for us.”
According to Lamoureux, blessings are conducted whenever a new department or program is opened.
“We did something more grandiose this time... I couldn’t imagine taking occupancy without doing this,” he said. “It’s fantastic, and we are so looking forward to getting patients into the new building.”
The north pavillion will service critical care, labor and delivery, neonatal intensive care and general surgery. It’s expected to open to patients sometime this fall or winter, hospital officials said.
Designed by HOK, a national firm, and the Smith Group, which specializes in health care facilities, the north pavillion — also known as the inpatient building — stands 85 feet tall and 600 feet long. It faces 23rd Street off of Santa Monica Boulevard.
It is the largest of the buildings on site. Crews began constructing it in 1999 and it is was supposed to be done two years ago but the general contractor went bankrupt, leaving hospital officials to scramble to find another one.
The fourth floor houses paranatal services, including 12 labor delivery rooms and two cesarean delivery rooms. The nursery will have the capability of accommodating 18 babies and the neo-natal intensive care unit can accommodate six infants. Across from the ICU, Saint John’s has built a hotel room of sorts for families whose child is receiving critical care.
The third floor will have 64 beds for general and orthopedic surgeries. The second floor, which has 32 patient rooms, is dedicated to critical care and designed specifically for patients who need around-the-clock attention — a lot of glass windows so nurses can keep their eyes on patients at all times and the doors are designed to break away in case of an emergency. There is also a pharmacy on the second floor.
The first floor, which has 64 beds, is dedicated to oncology and general medical surgery. Saint John’s also has completed its 30,000-square-foot central plant underground, which allows the hospital to operate self-sufficiently.
The second phase of the construction plan — a four-story, 275,000-square-foot diagnostic and treatment facility — will be erected on the site of the original hospital. It’s scheduled to be completed in 2009.
The entire rebuilding project is estimated to cost $314 million.
Terry Muldoon, who as vice president of engineering services at Saint John’s is overseeing construction, told the Daily Press earlier this year that the project is funded completely separate from the hospital’s operating budget and comes from FEMA monies and a capital fundraising campaign.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 24, 2004. Read the original PDF.