A New Hospital in Castro Valley
Affirming its commitment to the health care needs of this community, Sutter Health will fund the development and construction of a new, state-of-the-art hospital on the Eden Medical Center campus in Castro Valley. This is the largest investment for a health care facility in central Alameda County, totaling nearly $400 million. Sutter Health’s investment includes the construction of the new hospital, medical office building, campus improvements and the demolition of the old hospital once services are transferred to the new facility. Sutter Health has committed to the continuation of essential health care services, including the Emergency Department, Trauma Center, Neuroscience Center, maternity and other medical and surgical care.
This investment in the Eden community is part of a $7 billion commitment by Sutter Health to replace, improve and construct new physician offices, outpatient clinics and acute care hospital facilities in big cities and small towns all over Northern California, from Amador County to downtown San Francisco.
We encourage you to visit this site often to learn more about this exciting project. We are committed to updating the information regularly and provide you with feedback should you have questions, concerns or ideas. This site will grow, just as our campus is growing!
Background
For the past ten years, the Board of Directors of Eden Medical Center, the Eden Township Healthcare District and Sutter Health have been working toward a financially feasible plan to replace Eden Medical Center to meet California earthquake safety requirements. Eden Medical Center, like many hospitals in California, is particularly vulnerable due to its age and its proximity to a major fault (the Hayward fault).
California's hospital seismic safety law, known as SB 1953, was passed in 1994 and requires every hospital in California to meet specific construction standards established to keep these structures standing after a major earthquake. By Jan. 1, 2030, the law requires all hospital buildings to comply with standards intended to keep hospital open and providing medical care in the aftermath of a major earthquake.
Under the stringent earthquake safety mandate, Eden Medical Center is not eligible to be licensed as an acute care hospital after January 1, 2013.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create an extraordinary landmark medical center that integrates advanced technology, quality medical care and outstanding physicians and employees to provide the best care for our patients and community.
Our Goals
Our primary responsibility to this community, our patients and staff is to ensure affordable, accessible health care services in a safe environment. The existing hospital has served our community well since 1954, but it has served its useful life and must be replaced to meet the state’s earthquake standards. This is a challenge for all hospitals, but it also an opportunity to design something new that takes advantage of modern technology, design practices and exceptional care practices for the best possible medical care experience for our patients. Our goals are
• To create a safe, healing environment
• To ensure accessible, affordable health care in our community
• To embrace the most sophisticated technologies and innovative designs to improve care
• To keep the existing hospital fully operational during construction
• To construct a high performing, sustainable green building
Our Responsibilities
The California legislature passed the seismic safety laws with the intention that hospitals be able to provide care following a major disaster, the most likely of which is an major earthquake. Many other hospitals – and even some legislators – are counting on changes in the standards or an extension of the state’s deadlines. Delays in making hospitals earthquake safe add a level of danger, as a major earthquake can occur at any time. As we saw with the levees in New Orleans or the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota, the danger is real. In both those cases, officials recognized the need to improve the structures, but were unable to act due to funding and planning delays. The results were tragic. We are on a fast track to ensure that this hospital is complete before that deadline and is here for the community.
This is the first comprehensive plan in Alameda County to rebuild a hospital to meet the state’s earthquake standards, without public funding or taxes. Our project ensures that health care services continue in this community and preserves the jobs of its caregivers. A construction project of this size also represents a significant infusion of capital in the local community and will bring economic vitality to the area, both in new jobs and in support of local businesses that will be a part of this project.
We recognize our core responsibilities in building a new hospital for our community:
• To meet State earthquake safety standards before 2013
• To preserve medical services in our community, including Emergency, Trauma, Maternity, Neurosciences and medical/surgical care
• To create an ideal patient experience
• To support community physicians and our employees by creating an exceptional place to work
• To create a landmark building and attractive campus that is source of pride for the community
• To build a new regional medical center with no public funding or tax
