New Stanford Hospital Nears Opening

PALO ALTO, CA — It's not a question of "if" but "when" in respect to the reason to conduct seismic retrofits in the San Francisco Bay Area.

That said, Stanford Health Care is planning the "when" as it moves toward a new hospital adjacent to the current facility built in 1959 without a thought to maintaining its structure if "the big one" hits.

Damages to homes, businesses and road infrastructure aside, the notion of a hospital compromised or worse yet collapsing during a major earthquake is about the scariest scenario a community faces.

Being on the San Francisco Peninsula, Palo Alto where Stanford is located comes with its own set of geographic and geologic problems.

"It served us well," Stanford Health Director of Renewal Communications Courtney Lodato told Patch. "This new facility will meet the seismic safety requirements mandated by the state of California."

Once patients are transported to the new facility in a move set for late October, the existing hospital will turn into a cancer treatment center. The opening is contingent on state licensing.

A decade in the works — half that in gaining city approvals, the $2 billion project took about 100 public meetings to finalize the plan that encompasses a pedestrian bridge between the two facilities and new "helistop" for air ambulances to land. A quick elevator flight will get patients to the emergency and operating rooms of which there will be 20.

The new facility over the 3-acre site will feature 368 new private patient rooms inside with new equipment that reflects the latest in health care technology. Outside, the grounds will have five gardens with walking trails. Because after all this is Stanford, the only Level 1 trauma center between San Francisco and San Jose will maintain its status as a leading academic medical center.

At the home of Stanford University, research is what the place is known for and will continue to be.