Sutter Health’s goal for this project was to revitalize a 150-year-old campus with a modernized, seismic-compliant replacement. The resulting campus—one of the greenest in California—allows California Pacific Medical Center to further its mission to provide high-quality care to the diverse population of the Mission District and surrounding neighborhoods.

The LEED-Gold Certified, 217,000 s.f., seven-story replacement hospital has 120 beds and houses a host of critical services including an emergency department, urgent care, acute and critical/emergency obstetrical services, medical/surgical, and an intensive care unit, as well as a dedicated Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) nursing unit. Using lean methodology, the design team broke down traditional department hierarchies, allowing for more flexibility with sharing spaces and becoming easily adaptable for multiple users.

In embracing sustainable building standards to achieve LEED-NC Gold certification, Sutter Health sought to reduce adverse impacts upon the environment, the community, and the building’s patients, caregivers, and staff. Stormwater run-off has been reduced by 45% percent through catchment in a 35,000-gallon cistern. After filtration and UV treatment, this water is then used as the primary make-up water for the cooling tower. The design team also performed wind tunnel testing in order to minimize the potential for pollutants which are expelled from the building (such as kitchen and vehicle exhaust) to be reintroduced through the facility’s fresh air system. Advanced filtration and emissions controls systems were incorporated within the two rooftop 1.5 MW diesel generator sets, to minimize pollution and protect indoor air quality.

This project employed an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach, with the team operating under an Integrated Form of Agreement (IFOA). Sutter Health, SmithGroup/Boulder Associates, HerreroBoldt, and eleven other trade partners fully embraced lean approaches and tools and consistently sought opportunities to eliminate waste and add value to this project’s design and construction. The team won honorable mention for the 2018 Construction Industry Project Excellence (CIPE) Awards from the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT).