By Daniel Wolowiczdanielw@theacorn.com
This week marks the one-year
anniversary of the groundbreaking
for Los Robles Hospital’s new
200,000-square-foot patient wing,
which includes a new entrance and
lobby. The renovation is on budget, and the building is on schedule to open in December 2006,
hospital officials said.
The $120-million addition will
nearly double the hospital’s total
square footage and will feature an
additional 90 beds.
Once completed, Los Robles
will be the largest hospital in Ventura County with 286 beds.
“We’re really excited about
(the new wing),” said Dr. Bernard
Klein, chief operating officer and
medical director for Los Robles
Hospital. “It’s what the community needs and deserves, and it
will help us significantly improve
our ability to provide safe, quality care.”
The facility will house more
labor and delivery rooms, expand
the neonatal intensive care unit
and will also include an entire
floor dedicated to women’s and
children’s health services.
Klein said the new wing will
allow him to make many of the
semi-private rooms in the hospital
private.
Kris Carraway-Bowman, head
of marketing for the hospital, said
a number of other departments will
benefit from the additional space.
She said the pharmacy, as well as
the oncology and cardiovascular
departments, are a few of the services set for expansion once construction is completed.
The renovation, which has
been in development since 2000,
is a response to the needs of the
growing population in the Conejo
Valley. Since the hospital’s opening in 1968, the valley’s population has jumped from 30,000 residents to 150,000. Los Robles is the
only full-service hospital in the
Conejo Valley.
According to hospital records,
Los Robles had 2,300 inpatients
during its first year. In 2004, the
hospital admitted more than
14,000 patients.
Because the wing now occupies the hospital’s old parking lot,
a new, 520-space parking structure
with helipad was completed last
year.
Kitchell Contractors, a Phoenix-based company, is handling
construction. Hayes and Oakley
Architects designed the building.
Both companies were contracted
by Hospital Corporation of
America, Los Robles’ parent company.
Jim Pullen, head of construction, said work crews are currently
erecting the building’s steel frame.
Particular health precautions are
being taken during construction to
help maintain a sterile environment inside the hospital, he said.
Pullen also said his staff has
been extra-cautious with truck deliveries because of the relatively
“tight” piece of property the new
wing occupies. To help with safety
on the surrounding streets, flag
crews are being used to direct
trucks.
The new wing will also feature
two additional emergency generators. Currently, the hospital has
one.
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