Information About Measure XX
November 3, 2020, General Election
Background
When Washington Hospital opened in 1958, it served a community of 18,000
people; today it serves more than 365,000 residents and its community
is expected to grow over the next several years. Upgrades are needed not
only to ensure the Hospital is able to continue to provide care in the
event of a disaster, such as a pandemic or earthquake, but also as a result
of the growing population throughout the district. In 2000, the Washington
Township Health Care District Board of Directors developed a long-range
master plan to meet this future demand. Today, implementation of this
Facility Master Plan continues.
Hospital staff has been updating the District Board of Directors over the
years, but most recently (July 8, 2020) provided another Facility Master
Plan update where seismic safety and deficiencies were reviewed. At the
July 20, 2020 meeting, Hospital staff also presented to the Board of Directors:
Planning for the Future of Your Community Hospital.
With
Phases 1 and 2 of the Facility Master Plan complete, on budget and on time, Phase 3 is being further developed. This
next phase includes the construction of a new seismically safe building
adjacent to the Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion and the completion
of the build-out in the Pavilion’s unfinished shell space. This
would need to be completed in time for the State seismic deadline of 2030.
Without execution of Phase 3 of the Facility Master Plan, the District
would be required to shut down certain critical programs and services
in 2030 under current law, as they would no longer be housed in seismically
compliant buildings.
The District anticipates that it will take approximately ten years to design,
obtain approvals, and construct the new acute care hospital building.
This new patient building will include space for a new cardiac catheterization
laboratory, the clinical laboratory, physical therapy, occupational therapy
and patient rooms for medical surgical patients, labor and delivery, pediatrics
and neonatal intensive care. This phase also includes infill of the empty
shell space on the first and ground floors of the Morris Hyman Critical
Care Pavilion, which would house the Hospital’s operating room suite
or hybrid OR, recovery room, pharmacy, radiology (including CT, MRI and
ultrasound).
Prior to recommending the bond measure to the Health Care District Board
of Directors, Hospital staff explored various construction options. These
options included retrofitting the existing tower, constructing a complete
replacement of the current six-story tower, and constructing a new, but
smaller, building to replace the existing tower. Ultimately, Hospital
staff recommended the last option—constructing a new smaller-size
building and infilling shell space in the Pavilion to replace operations
in the existing six-story tower.
To provide funding for Phase 3, the Washington Township Health Care District
Board of Directors unanimously passed
Resolution 1213, calling for the placement of a general obligation bond, Measure XX, in
the amount of $425,000,000 on the November 3, 2020, General Election ballot.
Measure XX asks District voters:
“To complete the construction necessary to make Washington Hospital
earthquake safe and to ensure the hospital remains open and accessible
to provide life-saving care during a major disaster, to provide modern
operating rooms, intensive care for infants and modern patient facilities,
shall community-owned Washington Township Health Care District authorize
$425,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, generating approximately $21,000,000
annually at an average rate of 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation while
bonds are outstanding, with all money staying local?”
As outlined earlier, proceeds from the bond would be used to build a new
seismically safe building adjacent to the Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion
and complete the buildout of services in the Pavilion’s existing
shell space. Some of the services that would be moved from the Main Hospital
building into either the Pavilion or the new building include:
- Operating rooms
- Catheterization laboratories
- Medical beds
- Surgical beds
- Labor and delivery/ Birthing Center
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- Pediatrics
- Imaging - MRI, CT, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, X-ray
- Pharmacy
- Clinical laboratory, including the blood bank
- Physical therapy/occupational therapy
Conceptual Rendering of New Building Adjacent to Morris Hyman Critical
Care Pavilion

What the passage of Measure XX would do
Measure XX, if approved by voters on November 3, 2020, will:
MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE: Allow your Hospital
to offer local access to the most advanced diagnostic and treatment options
for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other diseases, ensuring there
are quality medical facilities to meet the health care needs of our growing
community now and in the future.
FULFILL STATE-MANDATED REQUIREMENTS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY: Build a new
seismically safe state-of-the-art building adjacent to the Morris Hyman
Critical Care Pavilion; and complete the buildout of services in the Pavilion’s
unfinished shell space. Many of the Hospital’s key programs and
services remain in the Main Hospital building that does not meet the State
seismic standards and is too small to meet the needs of the community.
Some of the services that would be moved into either the Pavilion or the
new building include: operating rooms, catherization labs, labor and delivery,
intensive care units for high risk infants, and other important services
such as imaging, pharmacy, clinical laboratory, physical therapy and occupational therapy.
ALLOW THE HOSPITAL TO BE HERE FOR THE COMMUNITY IN THE EVENT OF A PUBLIC
HEALTH EMERGENCY OR NATURAL DISASTER: Locally accessible facilities would
remain available to our community in the case of a pandemic or earthquake.
ENSURE LOCAL ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY HEALTH CARE SERVICES: Ensure patients
utilizing our emergency department, critical care and medical/surgical
units have quick and easy access to lifesaving operating and catherization
rooms and other needed services. It is important that the members of our
community have access to a full range of services locally when they need it most.
SUPPORT WASHINGTON HOSPITAL BECOMING A DESIGNATED TRAUMA CENTER: There
is no Trauma Center in Southern Alameda County. The Hospital is in the
process of qualifying as a designated trauma center. By building a seismically
safe building for needed services and expanding our surgical suites and
catherization labs, the Hospital would be better prepared to meet the
needs of the community as a Trauma Center, which provides the highest
level of emergency health care to patients.
ENSURE PROPER CONTROLS ARE IN PLACE: Ensure that every penny of Measure
XX stays in our community to benefit local residents. This Measure would
cost the typical homeowner in the District about $50 per year. No funds
can be taken away by the State or be used for other purposes like administrators’
salaries. An independent Bond Oversight Committee will be created in order
to ensure every dollar is spent as intended by the voters.