New plans for 130-bed Sequoia Hospital unveiled New plans for 130-bed Sequoia Hospital unveiled (April 28, 2004)

** Estimated cost of rebuilt hospital $130 million.

By Marion Softky
Almanac Staff Writer

At last, Sequoia Hospital seems to have its act together.

In a forceful presentation April 19, hospital president Glenna Vaskelis, with a team of architects and builders, released detailed plans to rebuild the 54-year-old hospital at its present Redwood City location by the state deadline of 2013.

The 130-bed hospital complex will be built in phases, starting in late 2005 with construction of a parking garage and a three-story medical office building along the frontage on Alameda de las Pulgas. The new acute-care tower and 130-bed hospital should be completed by 2009. Repairs and seismic upgrades to the existing hospital should be finished by the end of 2012.

"Sequoia Hospital is about more than bricks and mortar," said Ms. Vaskelis. Before a standing-room-only crowd of enthusiastic supporters, she paid tribute to the nurses, doctors and staff that have served the south San Mateo County community since 1950.

Last week's meeting appeared to resolve doubts about the resolve of Catholic Health West (CHW), which has operated Sequoia since 1996, to rebuild the aging hospital to meet state requirements for seismic upgrade. These doubts have been growing as CHW hesitated to make a commitment, while the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) pursued highly public plans to build a new hospital in Redwood City or San Carlos.

Michael Blaszyk, CHW's chief financial officer, assured questioners that CHW is committed to the $130 million project. Just last week, he said, CHW issued $1.1 billion in new bonds -- which were oversubscribed by three times. "CHW stands by its promise. The project will be completed," he said.

CHW's plans for financing the $130 million project rely on debt financing, profits from hospital operations, and private fundraising through the Sequoia Hospital Foundation.

Sequoia district's role

There are still some details about financing and managing the new hospital to be worked out between CHW and the Sequoia Healthcare District. The hospital is now owned and managed by a nonprofit corporation, Sequoia Health Services, whose board is made up of five appointees of CHW and five members appointed by the public health-care district.

One suggestion is that the Sequoia Healthcare District, a special-purpose government agency that originally built and operated the hospital and still collects property taxes, should contribute some $25 million or more from its reserves toward building the new hospital.

All 10 members of the joint board were present and appeared supportive. After the meeting, district trustee Malcolm MacNaughton of Woodside told the Almanac, "Now that we know the what's and how's, we can come in with full support."

The board should make its final decision at a meeting, May 5. The CHW board of directors is scheduled to approve the project in July, Ms. Vaskelis said. The hospital expects to submit its application to Redwood City in July; the environmental impact report should take about a year; and construction of the parking structure could begin in late 2005, she said.

The Palo Alto factor

Two days after the Sequoia presentation, PAMF again postponed announcing where it plans to build a new hospital to serve southern San Mateo County. The choices under consideration are the former Excite@Home location in Redwood City, and a site on Industrial Road in San Carlos.

"It's no big deal," said spokeswoman Sarah O'Hara. Planners are still going through the decision process, and expect to make an announcement soon. "We're still very excited about where this is all going."

Ms. Vaskelis commented, "If Palo Alto wants to build their own hospital, it's their prerogative and their risk."

She worried that addition of a third hospital in the area would make the existing shortage of nurses even worse. "Our concern is that adding another hospital will disrupt the equilibrium of care-giving in the community, and exacerbate that shortage," she said.

Information

The Sequoia Health Services Board, which runs the hospital, will consider the project at its meeting Wednesday, May 5, at 4:30 p.m. in the Sequoia Room at Sequoia Hospital.

The Sequoia Healthcare District Board will hold its next meeting Wednesday, June 2.

For information, call the district at 367-5708; or the hospital at 369-5811. Information is also available at a new Web site: www.rebuildingsequoiahospital.org.

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