Riverside County Health System Plans Expansion, New Facility
Southwest Health Care System officials plan to expand two medical centers in southwestern Riverside County and build a new hospital in Temecula, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. Under the plan, SHCS is scheduled to begin renovations at Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrietta and Inland Valley Regional Medical Center in Wildomar next year and could finish in 2007 or 2008. The emergency rooms at the hospitals will be expanded, and specialty wards will be added to each facility, according to Scott Crane, CEO of SHCS. Rancho Springs will be designated as the region's obstetrics hospital and Inland Valley will specialize in coronary care. In addition, SHCS will build a 120-bed facility in Temecula, which will be a general acute care hospital. The expansions will boost the capacity of southwestern Riverside's hospitals from 176 beds to 399 beds. The Press-Enterprise reports that the project could cost $50 million, but SCHS officials said it is too early to calculate the final cost. State administrators still must approve the project (Vargo, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/13).
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