UC Regents last week approved preliminary planning for a new hospital complex for children, women and cancer patients at the UCSF Mission Bay campus.
Preliminary planning for construction of a new hospital at the UCSF Mission Bay biomedical campus, to include state-of-the-art children's, women's and cancer care, was approved by the UC Regents on Thursday.
The action paves the way for an expanded UCSF clinical presence in San Francisco and Northern California, allowing for program growth, improved patient care and greater opportunities for collaborative translational research at the cutting-edge, 43-acre life sciences campus.
"We are extremely pleased with the Regents' decision, which will allow UCSF to begin planning for children, women and cancer patients -- an entirely new, unparalleled clinical enterprise at the site of the premier biomedical research campus in the western United States," said Medical Center CEO Mark Laret.
When constructed, the hospitals will be the first built from the ground up in San Francisco in several decades.
On completion, this phase of development on the Mission Bay campus would include a total of 289 new inpatient beds, as well as associated outpatient facilities, at an estimated cost of between $1 billion and $1.3 billion. That price tag does not include the associated construction costs for parking, faculty office buildings and translational research space.
The Mission Bay hospital complex would include:
- • A new, 183-bed UCSF Children's Hospital to
replace inpatient services located at the existing Children's Hospital at
Parnassus Heights
- • a 36-bed women's service and
- • a 70-bed cancer service to replace inpatient
facilities at UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion
The Regents' action permits UCSF Medical Center to use $34 million in hospital reserves to complete all phases of preliminary planning for the hospital complex, including selection of an architectural firm.
Planning for the new hospital complex at Mission Bay must begin immediately to meet the deadlines of California seismic law to protect patients and staff in hospitals.
In a related matter, the Regents' Finance Committee on Wednesday approved the terms of purchase for the final parcel required to assemble the 14.5-acre site for the hospital complex, bounded by Mariposa, 16th, Owens and Third streets.
The ambitious plan is the campus's preferred alternative to an approach that was approved by the Regents in March. That approach enables the medical center to pursue along a parallel track - and as a fallback plan -- should the larger Mission Bay hospital complex project be unaffordable in time to meet deadlines for state seismic laws.
In March, the Regents approved the expenditure of $13.5 million for detailed planning for the Mount Zion seismic retrofit and clinical expansion.
Under that plan, UCSF would perform the seismic upgrades required of all California hospitals by state law by 2013 to permit the hospital at Mount Zion to continue to offer inpatient services until 2030, at a cost of $250 million to $300 million.
Fundraising will begin immediately for the Mission Bay children's, women's and cancer hospital.
Extension to State Law
UCSF is able to pursue the preferred, combined hospital proposal as a result of the recent passage of a law giving hospitals an additional two years, until 2015, to meet certain seismic standards. The legislation sits on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk; the campus is hopeful that he will sign it.
The extension would give UCSF more time to raise funds for the Mission Bay hospital project and potentially avoid spending up to $250 million in seismic upgrades at Mount Zion, which would extend the life of the hospital there only to 2030.
The new hospitals will be cradled in the fertile research environment that is the Mission Bay biomedical campus, adjacent to the future home of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Plans for the new clinical facilities at Mission Bay were developed during an extensive four-year campus strategic planning effort that identified Parnassus Heights and the Mission Bay campus as the major sites for integrated basic and clinical science, education and clinical care. Plans also call for Mount Zion to be a vibrant center for outpatient services.
"Moving forward on plans to build a 289-bed hospital at Mission Bay is not only extremely exciting for children's, women's and cancer services, but it is truly momentous for the entire organization," Laret added. "This is the first step in the major rejuvenation of our clinical facilities, which will culminate with a new hospital pavilion on the Parnassus campus someday. This is truly an historic time for UCSF Medical Center."
Related links:
Regents Approve Plan to Build Specialty Hospitals at Mission Bay
UCSF Officials Define Vision for Future Growth
