UCSF Board approves $1.7B Mission Bay hospital complex
UCSF Medical Center is one step closer to breaking ground for a new hospital complex on the UCSF Mission Bay campus following the unanimous approval by the University of California Board of Regents on the project's design, budget and environmental certification.
According to officials. the new complex will be the first hospital built from the ground up in San Francisco in 30 years. With a budget of $1.686 billion for the first phase, it is one of the largest building projects in the western United States.
Regental approval was the last major hurdle before structural plans are submitted to the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in December of this year. Construction on the hospital complex, which has been in the planning stages since 2002, would begin in 2009 after it receives state approval, with the facility slated to open by early 2014.
The new facility is designed as a 289-bed integrated hospital complex with three specialty hospitals - for children, women, and cancer patients - located on land adjacent to a 43-acre site that is dedicated to biomedical research. The UCSF Mission Bay campus is located south of downtown San Francisco near the Giants' ballpark.
"The combination of the best in clinical care with the best in health science research at this new facility will make it an epicenter of advancement in healthcare that will improve patients' lives and the practice of medicine in the Bay Area, nationally and around the world," said Mark Laret, chief executive officer of UCSF Medical Center.
The hospital site, a 14.5-acre parcel of land, is "strategically positioned" to integrate patient care with the existing research campus, strengthening "bench to bedside" and "bedside to bench" collaboration among UCSF basic scientists, clinical researchers, and physicians.
The new complex also will support UCSF's ongoing commitment to advancing health science education in collaboration with research and patient care, according to UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, MD.
"UCSF has always been a leader in innovation and now we are taking a bold step to further advance that leadership. The new medical center is a key part of the foundation for continuing UCSF's role as a leading center for translational research: We intend to greatly enhance our ability to apply what we discover. Our patients will benefit, and so too will our students, who will be the researchers and clinicians of the future," he said.
Financing will be through a combination of donor contributions, hospital reserves, debt financing and state support. San Francisco businesswoman and philanthropist Diane "Dede" B. Wilsey is serving as the voluntary chair of the campaign to raise $600 million in private donations.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance healthcare in San Francisco by creating one of the world's leading medical centers," Wilsey said. "This is a significant investment in our future."
A central feature of the new facilities will be the integration of green practices and sustainable design elements. According to Cindy Lima, executive director of administration at UCSF Medical Center, who oversees the project, each of the hospitals will be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the leading industry standard for what constitutes a "green building."
