Archive: UCSF to Build World-Class Medical Center at Mission Bay

UCSF is embarking on an ambitious plan to double its capacity to meet growing patient demand for services by building a new medical center at Mission Bay. The new medical center will provide a world-class, sophisticated, efficient, flexible and family-centered healing environment for women, children and cancer patients in three integrated hospitals at Mission Bay. Upon completion of the first phase in 2014, the hospital complex will include:

• • A 183-bed children's hospital with urgent/emergency care and pediatric primary and specialty ambulatory facilities;
  
• • A 70-bed adult hospital for cancer patients;
  
• • A women's hospital for cancer care, specialty surgery, a 36-bed birth center and select women's ambulatory services;
  
• • An energy center and support facilities
  

UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Children's Hospital are recognized throughout the world as leaders in health care, providing innovative treatments, advanced technology and collaboration among clinicians and scientists. UCSF is looking to expand upon services provided at its hospital and clinics at Parnassus Heights, Mount Zion and other locations to accommodate more patients. "It's a momentous time for UCSF," said Mark Laret, chief executive officer of UCSF Medical Center. "The construction of a medical center at Mission Bay will allow us to meet growing patient demand for services and strengthen our ability to rapidly translate research findings into new medical advances that directly benefit patients." To be located on a 14.5-acre parcel just south of UCSF's 43-acre life sciences campus at Mission Bay, the new 289-bed medical center will bring together scientists and clinicians to translate research findings into therapies and cures. These treatments will be shared throughout UCSF and around the globe. Room to Grow Building a new medical center at Mission Bay is an important recommendation in the UCSF Strategic Plan, a blueprint for the future that points to new directions to bolster UCSF's highly ranked academic and clinical enterprise. The entire UCSF Strategic Plan is posted online at strategy.ucsf.edu. In addition to addressing old and outdated facilities and meeting California seismic law to ensure patient and staff safety, UCSF must expand its medical center facilities to meet growing patient demand. UCSF Children's Hospital often operates at full capacity, but there is no room to grow at its current location occupying several floors of the medical center at Parnassus Heights. During the past year, in fact, the number of pediatric patients transferred to UCSF from other hospitals increased by nearly 20 percent. By 2020, California must build the equivalent of five new children's hospitals to accommodate the projected statewide increase in pediatric patients. Moreover, the explosion of pediatric research projects now underway at UCSF requires additional areas for collaboration, and the advanced equipment used to diagnose and treat young patients necessitates more space. Likewise, the planned 70-bed cancer unit marks the beginning of creating a cancer center at Mission Bay in close proximity to the Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Building, where the newest biomedical advances will be applied to combat cancer in state-of-the-art laboratories. And introducing select women's specialty services - to include a birth center and women's cancer and gynecological surgery - is a natural fit to the children's and cancer services planned at Mission Bay. Need for Support To realize its vision, UCSF must raise at least $500 million toward the development of the first phase of the medical center at Mission Bay. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost about $1.5 billion. Since state support for these facilities is expected to be limited, any new hospital construction must be financed through a combination of medical center reserves, debt financing and private support. UCSF has received significant early indication of private support for the project. The UC Regents recently approved the proposed fundraising campaign, which is being led by voluntary chair Diane "Dede" Wilsey, a businesswoman and philanthropist. Wilsey served as chair of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's capital campaign to rebuild the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, securing more than $200 million in funding from more than 7,000 private donors. Community support is also vital to the project. Members of the community have been involved in the hospital planning process since 2001. UCSF will continue to host frequent community meetings throughout the upcoming design process. UCSF selected Anshen + Allen in association with William McDonough + Partners for the design of the Mission Bay medical center. Anshen + Allen is an award-winning, San Francisco-based architectural firm specializing in health care, research and academic facilities. William McDonough + Partners is a leader in sustainable and eco-effective design. The team also includes Rutherford & Chekene and ARUP engineers. To learn more about how to support bringing the vision of the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay to life, please contact Sterrin Bird, CFRE, senior director of development, at 415/353-3860 or [email protected].