HOSPITAL EXPANSION PROJECT
San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital (SGMH) is growing to meet the needs of its community! In March 2006, a supportive community passed Measure "A," a $108 million general obligation bond. HDR Architecture has been working with the hospital staff, physicians and board to design the patient care and ancillary areas.
Building the helicopter pad was the first project. Prior to having its own pad, which is located on the southeast portion of the hospital campus, helicopters were landing on Highland Springs Avenue. Police and fire departments would close Highland Springs Avenue for up to an hour to keep the area safe for the helicopter. As SGMH is not a trauma facility, it does not receive patients by helicopter. When a patient is critical and requires a higher level of care, the patient may be sent by helicopter to another facility. The pad received its first helicopter on February 29, 2008!
Before any patient care facility construction could begin, all utilities had to be relocated and installed underground. From May 2008 through March 2009, various areas of the parking lot were removed as the utilities were installed. At the same time, the cooling towers and oxygen farm were moved to a new building on the northwest corner of the hospital campus. Water runs down the cooling towers to remove the heat absorbed from the assorted generators and equipment from the hospital before it re-circulates to the equipment. Oxygen is provided to each patient room from large tanks, referred to as a "farm."
During the spring of 2009, construction began on the hospital's central plant. The plant is being built on the southwest portion of the hospital campus, in an area that was once used as parking for the Emergency Department. The plant will house the emergency generators, boilers, chillers and Information Technology system for the hospital. Beneath the plant will be a large fuel tank, capable of holding enough fuel to power the emergency generator and keep the hospital operational for four days in the event of a power failure. The plant is expected to take 18 months to complete.
Most of the remainder of the bond funds will be used to build a 24-bed Emergency Department and 16-bed Intensive Care Unit. The two-story triangular building will be located on the southern portion of the campus. It is anticipated the plans for the building will be approved by the end of 2009 with construction beginning as soon as possible after permits are received.
The original plans included a six-story building for patient care. Construction costs have increased considerably from 2004 when the original concept of the hospital expansion was developed and some building requirements have changed, adding to an increase in building costs. Hospitals adhere to very rigorous building standards (second only to nuclear power plants). Should a major earthquake hit, the state would like hospitals to be "the last buildings standing." Measure "A" will not cover the costs to build a six-story patient tower. The healthcare district board of directors will consider options for funding in the future when the scope of services needed is reevaluated.
It is important to ensure that the expenditures of Measure A are in conformity with the intent of the bond; that taxpayers participate in the oversight of bond expenditures; and that members of the oversight committee alert the public to any waste or improper expenditure of hospital construction bond money. A Community Oversight Committee was created to for this purpose. This committee meets quarterly to review the expenses paid with bond funds.
Measure A Community Oversight Committee Policies and Regulations
Measure A Community Oversight Committee Annual Report
Measure A Community Oversight Committee Minutes
Measure A Community Oversight Committee Application
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