Construction of the Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion, the largest public
works project in the history of Washington Township Health Care District,
was officially commemorated with a ceremonial groundbreaking held on Tuesday,
February 24, at noon.
“The Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion will answer the District’s
need for expanded emergency and critical care facilities and will be among
the most advanced in the Bay Area,” said Nancy Farber, chief executive
officer of Washington Hospital Healthcare System. “Completion of
this project is critical for the Hospital to continue to provide high-quality
health care services and provide them in a seismically safe facility.”
Named for the founder of Fremont Bank, thanks to a generous donation by
the Fremont Bank Foundation, the Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion will
house a new, and expanded Emergency Department, which will be approximately
four times the size of the current Emergency Department and will also
house a state-of-the-art intensive care unit (ICU) as well as and an advanced
coronary care unit (CCU). The new ICU and CCU will have 48 beds compared
to the current capacity of 28 beds. All of the rooms will be private and
larger in size. The pavilion will also have an additional 68 private med-surg
beds and support space.
“The groundbreaking for the new Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion
is an important occasion for many reasons,” said Hattie Marie Hyman
Hughes, president of the Fremont Bank Foundation. “Not only will
this new building be a vital and critical asset to the community but my
father, Morris Hyman, truly loved this Hospital and would see this as
an honor to have his name recognized by the dedicated staff and institution
of Washington Hospital.”
The critical care pavilion, which represents phase two of Washington Hospital’s
three- phase master plan, will use the latest seismic technology to ensure
it will continue to function in the event of a major earthquake. The foundation
of the building will be supported by a technology called base isolation,
which is designed to move during a seismic event while keeping the building
intact and functional. The seismic improvements, while important to ensure
the safety of our patients and staff during an earthquake, are required
as a result of California’s unfunded seismic mandate that requires
hospitals to meet strict seismic standards by 2030. The Morris Hyman Critical
Care Pavilion is expected to be completed by 2018.
"Morris Hyman was not only the founder of our bank but one of the
most influential leaders of our community, particularly as it was being
created in the 1950s,” said Michael Wallace, board chairman of Fremont
Bank and a member of the Washington Township Health Care District board
of directors. “He knew the importance of continuously improving
the Hospital’s services as our community grew and as technology
and the practice of medicine changed over the years.”
In addition to the Critical Care Pavilion, construction on a new parking
garage is underway, which will provide ample employee parking and chargers
for plug-in vehicles. The parking garage is needed to make room for future
construction as part of phase three of the Hospital’s facility master
plan, which will include a new patient building. The phase three building
will be completed ahead of the 2030 state seismic deadline.