Mercy General Files Heart Center Plans With the City
Sacramento, CA, Oct. 18, 2004 -- Mercy General Hospital today filed plans with the City of Sacramento to construct a $150 million, state-of-the-art heart center on its East Sacramento campus. The center - which will be known as the Alex G. Spanos Heart Center in recognition of Mr. Spanos' $15 million contribution to the project's capital campaign - will be the new home for Mercy General's nationally acclaimed cardiac services, which have been consistently rated the best in the Sacramento area and among the best in the nation.
The Alex G. Spanos Heart Center will consolidate Mercy General's cardiac services under one roof and function as a replacement building for the hospital's South and East Wings, which will be retired as hospital buildings in 2013, in accord with the state's seismic retrofit law. The center will be a 128-bed, five-story building at the center of the hospital campus, allowing for improved patient flow, while incorporating the newest technologies and clinical capabilities. "Mercy General serves patients from throughout the greater Sacramento region and has one of the highest volume surgery programs in California," said Denny Powell, Hospital President. "The Alex G. Spanos Heart Center will allow us to continue to provide leading edge cardiac services which meet the highest national standards."
The architecture of the Alex G. Spanos Heart Center will reflect that of the surrounding East Sacramento community. "My team has researched the wonderful architecture that makes the East Sacramento neighborhood so distinctive," says Tom Onnen, AIA, HDR Architecture and Heart Center project architect. "We've incorporated the predominant 'Arts and Crafts' style of the community into the design of the center's exterior and interior, making it a welcome addition on every level."
An Environmental Impact Report will be developed over the coming months, with construction of the Alex G. Spanos Heart Center tentatively slated to begin in 2006. The center is scheduled to open its doors in late 2008.
Mercy General Hospital has been serving the Sacramento community for more than 100 years. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy General has been at its current site in the heart of East Sacramento since 1925. Mercy General Hospital has 343 licensed beds, a physician staff of more than 700 and delivers 2,600 babies annually. Mercy General is one of six Sacramento area hospitals that are part of Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), a system of 42 hospitals and medical centers in California, Arizona and Nevada and the nation's eighth largest healthcare system. In fiscal year 2004, CHW provided more than $566 million in charity care and unsponsored community benefit.
