Hospitals Announce Increased Construction Costs, Donations
California Healthline highlights recent hospital news, including recently announced increases in construction costs at two hospitals and two hospitals' announcements of donations. Summaries appear below.
Construction Costs
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Edgemoor Hospital, Santee: The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday considered issuing as much as $25 million more in bonds to offset the cost of rebuilding Edgemoor Hospital a nursing facility for low-income and chronically ill residents owned and operated by the county, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The project, which was estimated to cost $65 million, could cost as much as $90 million, in part because of "unprecedented increases" in the cost of building materials and a "very strong" construction market, according to county documents. County CFO Don Steuer said that the sale and lease of land surrounding the hospital and federal funding could further offset construction costs (Chacon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/10).
- El Camino Hospital, Walnut Creek: Building a new facility to replace El Camino Hospital in Walnut Creek and retrofitting the existing facility to comply with state seismic regulations will cost about $339 million, about $50 million more than previous estimates, hospital officials announced last week, the San Jose Mercury News reports. El Camino officials attributed the new cost estimate to the "dramatic increases" in the cost of labor and materials, according to the Mercury News. The project is slated to be completed in 2009 (Portner, San Jose Mercury News, 1/8).
Donations
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Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach: Bond fund manager Bill Gross and his wife, Sue, have donated $20 million to Hoag Memorial Hospital to help fund the construction of a seven-story tower to house women's health services, the Los Angeles Times reports. The donation provides $10 million for construction costs, $4 million for digital mammography equipment and a $6 million endowment for the women's wellness center. Costs of building, equipment and furniture are projected at $200 million. The hospital has raised $72 million, and the remainder will come from reserves and bonds. The center, which will be named the Sue and Bill Gross Women's Pavilion, is expected to open in October (Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times, 1/8).
- Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Roseville: The Sutter Roseville Medical Center Foundation in December 2004 donated almost $550,000 to the hospital to fund the new endoscopy suite, the ultrasonic aspiration system, the lactation program and equipment for cardiopulmonary monitoring, the Sacramento Bee reports. The foundation provided the center with more than $1 million in 2004, the second consecutive year it has contributed that amount (Campos, Sacramento Bee, 1/9).