UC-DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER: EXPANSION PROJECTS UNDERWAY
At a time when consolidation is the buzzword in the healthThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
care industry, the University of California at Davis Medical
Center (UCDMC) has launched a major expansion. The BUSINESS
JOURNAL OF SACRAMENTO reports that UCDMC has begun five large
construction projects with a total cost of $330 million. UCDMC
is adding a $155.7 million medical center, an $84.1 million
ambulatory care center and a $15.3 million laboratory research
building. The construction will be paid for by the proceeds from
a bond sale last year that generated $345.8 million.
GOOD TIMING: "Others are converting facilities, even
closing some of their hospitals," said Butch Enkoji, executive
director of the Sacramento-Sierra Hospital Conference. "But it's
like the stock market -- when it's going south is the best time
to invest. ... When this settles out, perhaps they'll stand out
ahead of everybody else," he said. Frank Loge, CEO of the
medical center, said, "The construction under way currently will
place us in a position to maintain our academic responsibility
and be competitive in the health care market" (Robertson, 2/24).