OAKLAND (KRON) — Oakland’s City Council approved certification of the Environmental Impact Report for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland’s renovation project. The project aims to rebuild and modernize the hospital to meet seismic regulations and improve facilities.
The hospital’s plans include 210 patient beds on-site; creation of individual patient rooms; expansion of the outpatient center; new surgical, diagnostic and treatment rooms, and support services and clinics.
“We are proud of this project,” says Dr. Bert Lubin, president and chief executive officer of UCSF Benioff Oakland. “Our modernization project will enhance the hospital’s ability to focus on family centered care with new, modern, and seismically compliant buildings and technology.”
Children’s has more than 250,000 out-patient visits and 10,000 in-patient admissions each year. The hospital has served as the safety net hospital for Alameda County since its inception.
Over the past two years, Children’s hosted over 30 community meetings in order to ensure the hospital’s neighbors could provide input on the modernization plan. Children’s addressed and acted on the feedback it received in order to develop a plan that would minimize disruption to the surrounding community. The hospital will continue to communicate with the neighbors as the project proceeds.
Construction on the modernization project is expected to begin in late summer 2015.