By Ian Thompson | DAILY REPUBLIC | June 27, 2008
VACAVILLE - It is almost time to start moving in all the equipment the new Kaiser Permanente hospital will need when it opens in April 2009.
The four-story, 340,000-square-foot facility will provide an array of medical services, including the city's first maternity ward.
'It will be the first time that 'born in Vacaville' will be on the birth certificate,' Kaiser spokeswoman Joanie Erickson said.
The new Kaiser hospital on Vaca Valley Parkway is more than 90 percent complete. Plans are to open the medical offices in November and the hospital itself in April 2009.
'We are on time and on budget,' Kaiser Senior Projects Manager Andrew Fellows said.
The hospital will boast state-of-the-art facilities that include a 24-hour emergency department, ambulatory surgery unit and cardiology, radiology, oncology, orthopedics, podiatry and urology departments.
'We will be bringing more specialized medical services here,' Erickson said. 'In November, more of our Vacaville patients will be able to stay here instead of driving to Vallejo.'
A standard set of plans Kaiser has used in building other hospitals saved the company time in obtaining the state building permits for the Vacaville facility. That, in turn, saved time in construction.
The buildings have been erected. Installation of piping, cabinets, lighting, flooring and heavy medical infrastructure is nearly complete.
Crews are in the process of testing the air, water, steam and ventilation systems, and installing some of the heavier equipment in the surgery unit.
Kaiser is particularly proud of the hospital's green design that includes recyclable rubber flooring and recycled asphalt parking lots. The building design incorporates a greater number of windows that are designed to filter out UV rays.
See the complete story at the Daily Republic online.
