By Khalida Sarwari
San Jose City Councilman Xavier Campos joined San Jose Regional Medical Center officials today to celebrate the groundbreaking on a project to expand and renovate the hospital’s emergency department.
Over the next 18 months, the department will be expanded by 4,500 square feet as part of a $300 million hospital expansion project.
The construction project will increase the bed count in the emergency department to 42.
“This is just one phase, but an important phase,” hospital CEO Mike Johnson said at the groundbreaking ceremony in front of the emergency department this morning.
“This does a couple of things – one, it’s an investment in jobs,” Campos said. “But, I think the most important investment is an investment in health.”
The emergency department’s medical director Dr. Elaine Nelson said the expansion project began 12 years ago.
“Our expansion and remodel will provide more, private treatment rooms and state-of-the-art equipment to allow for even better and more efficient care,” Nelson said.
As part of the overall expansion project, a new four-story 160,000 square feet hospital tower with 81 private beds will be completed in 2014.
Next month, the second floor of a two-story hospital wing will open. The new wing will offer 68 private beds.
Thus far, the hospital has opened a breast care center with digital mammography, an expanded and remodeled intensive care unit with 34 beds, and the first floor of the new wing.
Regional Medical Center has centers designated for trauma, stroke and cardiac as well as an on-campus helipad. The hospital, considered the second busiest in Santa Clara County, treats roughly 62,000 patients a year.
