Kaiser Permanente's New Redwood City Hospital Opens, Capping a Year of Remarkable Growth

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Dec. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente today opened a new replacement hospital at its Redwood City Medical Center, concluding an unprecedented period of growth. This is the third new hospital the health care leader opened in Northern California this year alone.

The striking seven-floor, 280,000-square foot structure at the corner of Veterans Boulevard and Walnut Street is adjacent to the building it replaces. It meets the state's new, stricter seismic-safety standards that go into effect on January 1. Redwood City is a regional center for Kaiser Permanente's advanced neurological care and surgery, and the new hospital features neuro-interventional radiology suites, neurological CT scans and neuro-interventional imaging suites, and dedicated neurological and orthopedic operating rooms.

"Our new Redwood City hospital is the culmination of a $2 billion commitment by Kaiser Permanente to our members and the communities we serve," said Gregory A. Adams, group president and regional president of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan, Inc., in Northern California. "We are an industry leader in delivering high-quality, affordable health care, and as the third new facility we have opened this year, the Redwood City hospital reflects our commitment to providing exceptional, patient-centered care to our members in modern, up-to-date facilities."

The new facility features private rooms with room service, Wi-Fi and pull-out guest beds so family and friends can stay close to hospitalized loved ones overnight. Throughout the hospital, patient rooms feature the "Get Well Network," an interactive electronic patient care board connected to a 42-inch plasma screen. Patients can view television programs, movies and patient-education videos; they can find the names of doctors and nurses, receive email, and read a care schedule that covers their hospital stay and follow-up care once they are released. The hospital also features an electronic "way-finding" board that helps members and visitors find people and destinations in the hospital, in English and Spanish.

"The new hospital at Redwood City and its fellow new hospitals in Oakland and San Leandro showcase the excellence in medical care that we provide in Kaiser Permanente. Our superior quality outcomes and personalized service have allowed us to increase our membership in Northern California by more than 170,000 individuals this year, and made us the model for health care for the future," said Robert Pearl, MD, executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group. "The neurosurgical team in Redwood City is world class and their results exceptional. This state-of-the-art hospital will allow them to provide even more impressive care for the most complex problems that patients experience."

Kaiser Permanente began large-scale facilities work in 2002-2003 with the debut of a major hospital construction effort in Northern California. The main thrust of the program was to create or enhance facilities to embrace new technologies and other advanced features of modern health care.

A large component of that work involved seismic upgrades to meet newer, more stringent requirements that were enacted by the state after the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes. Many existing facilities were retrofitted to meet the higher standards, and three were replaced entirely. In addition to Redwood City, they were Oakland (opened in July of this year) and San Leandro (opened in June as a replacement for the Hayward hospital).

Over the past 10 years, Kaiser Permanente in Northern California also has built and opened a new Santa Clara Medical Center; replaced the hospital tower at Vallejo; performed major expansions at Santa Rosa, Roseville and South Sacramento; and constructed new expansion medical centers that are now serving members in Antioch, Modesto and Vacaville.

Kaiser Permanente operates 21 hospitals and 237 medical office buildings in Northern California, which serve 3.6 million members. The investments in the three hospitals opened this year reflect Kaiser Permanente's commitment to providing its members and patients with the right care, in the right place, and at the right time. The convenience, ease and access to care that characterize these and all of Kaiser Permanente's facilities improve the health and well-being of the communities served by the organization.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve approximately 9.5 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

Contact:
Karl Sonkin, (408) 528-5168

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente

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