Opening date set for Mills-Peninsula

It will replace the old seismically-unfit facility that has served patients since 1955. An opening date has been a moving target. It was hoped it would open late last year, then that was pushed back to Feb. 13. When that day passed, officials decided not to publish a date until it was in stone, said Margie O’Clair, vice president of marketing, communications and public affairs.

As a result, O’Clair isn’t looking at this as a delay, but as good news since a date has been set.

The state issued the hospital a temporary certificate of occupancy allowing training on site and equipment to be moved into the building, both of which are under way, said O’Clair. Final approval, which O’Clair described as mostly paperwork, is expected in March.

When completed, the medical center will be one of the strongest earthquake-safe structures on the West Coast, able to withstand a magnitude 8.5 earthquake. The technology, called base isolation, allows the building to slide in a gentle pendulum motion independent of the earth’s shaking during an earthquake.

The old hospital was mandated to be torn down by the state due to its inability to withstand a major earthquake. The old hospital’s 11 buildings will be torn down once all the medical offices, clinics and equipment are moved to the new hospital. The land will then be converted to parking.

Sutter’s new facility is 630,000 square feet in two buildings connected by a lobby. It will have 241 private rooms, distributed nursing stations, nine surgery rooms and equipped with the latest medical technology.

The facility is meant to be self-sustaining in any type of emergency. There are 50,000-gallon water tanks, a 40,000-gallon diesel tank to run three huge generators in case the power goes out and three of everything, from heating to cooling systems.

When finished, the site will have 1,540 parking spaces.

The parking garage at El Camino Real and Trousdale Drive was completed in December 2006 and construction started on the hospital and medical office building in January 2007.

Community tours of the new facility will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 30. After the hospital opens, the public will have limited to no access into areas like surgery, said O’Clair. Those interested in the tour are asked to sign up online by visiting www.mills-peninsula.org/

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.