Enloe Century Project FAQ
Following are some answers to the common
questions about Enloe Medical Center's Century Project Expansion.
What is Enloe Century Project?
The Enloe Century Project is a much needed expansion of Enloe Medical Center at 1531 Esplanade in Chico. The project consists of a new five-story patient tower; a four-level, three-story parking structure; and a community park. The patient tower is being built on the west side of the existing five-story patient tower, and the two buildings will connect.
What will the new patient tower offer?
The new patient tower will provide an additional 191,000 square feet of space and will create an additional 140 beds in private rooms, with the flexibility to accommodate more patients by offering semi-private rooms if necessary. It will also include:
- A new emergency department that is nearly triple the square footage of the existing department and equipped with its own X-ray and CT-scan.
- A new surgical department with double the existing surgical suites, including dedicated heart, neurological and orthopedic operating rooms, and its own street entrance, lobby and reception area.
- Two new intensive care units with 12 beds will also be part of the new patient tower.
- The entire fourth floor will be dedicated to maternity services. Named the Nettleton Mother & Baby Care Center, this unit will include triage rooms, private labor and delivery rooms, private post-partum rooms, a specialty care nursery, and a family lounge. The post-partum rooms will provide ample space for the comfort of the mother, baby and family, including furniture that enables loved ones to spend the night and private bathroom and shower.
- A new and significantly larger main entry lobby and reception area, with a café and garden eating areas
- A meditation room near the main entry lobby to provide a place of comfort
- Comfortable family lounges on the upper floors that will provide refreshment and nourishment areas, so visitors can get water and coffee or use the microwave
Tell me about the new parking structure?
The four-level, three-story parking structure will provide 742 parking spaces for employees and physicians. Located between W. 6th and W. 7th Avenues between Magnolia and Esplanade, the building will have a Mediterranean-style façade that complements the new patient tower’s exterior.
What is the new community park?
A community park for patients, families, neighbors and the Enloe community is the third phase of the project. It will be located approximately between West 5th and 6th Avenues, from Arcadian to Magnolia.
When will the Century Project be completed?
Enloe’s parking structure is expected to be completed by the fall of 2008. The new patient tower is expected to be complete by 2011. Construction for the community park will begin after the patient tower is complete, and should open about six months after work begins.
When was the last expansion of the medical center?
The Enloe Century Project is the fourth expansion of its Esplanade campus. The maternity, ancillary and south wings were added in 1950, 1968 and 1971 respectively. Enloe’s first patient tower, the existing five-story patient building, opened in 1980.
Why is Enloe planning to expand?
As we plan toward the year 2020, the Chico planning area is projected
to grow by nearly 2 percent each year, for a total of at least 40,000 new
residents. At that time, the baby boomers, born between 1946 and
1964, will represent the age segment of 56-74. People in this age
segment require more health care than their younger counterparts.
We are also living longer. As of 2005, life expectancy in the U.S.
is 76 years for men and 86 years for women. As we consider the implications
of a growing Chico area, health care leaders must also plan to ensure
the right services are in the right place by the time the community
needs them. As a community-governed, not-for-profit hospital, we
are committed to assuring that we meet the needs of our community-today,
tomorrow and for generations to come.
How will Enloe fund the expansion?
Fully equipped, the Enloe Century Project is expected to cost
$132 million, with funding provided through savings, bonds and a
fundraising campaign. The sale of the vacant property on Bruce Road
also is helping to fund this project.
Why is Enloe choosing to expand at Esplanade rather than build
new elsewhere?
Conservative estimates to build a new hospital elsewhere place
the cost today at more than $260 million. That does not include
the cost of land, equipment, or relocation and construction of physician
and support offices that desire to be in the vicinity of a hospital.
At one time, when the cost of providing hospital care was less,
and the reimbursement for health care was proportionately more,
an option of a new hospital was discussed, and land on Bruce Road
was available for this purpose.
In today's health care environment the funds to build new simply
do not exist. Borrowing the money to build a new facility would
put our locally governed, nonprofit hospital at risk and endanger
the overall health of our community. The next best alternative,
as researched by the Board of Trustees, is to expand and remodel
our existing facility. Remaining at the Esplanade location allows
the medical corridor between Esplanade and Cohasset to remain intact
with convenient proximity for patients and no disruption to nearby
physician offices and support services.
Why not remodel or build at the Cohasset Campus?
Some neighbors have suggested moving services such as Trauma to
the Cohasset facility. Since merging with Chico Community Hospital,
Enloe has explored the possibility of opening several new services
at Cohasset, including a Cancer Center. However, the facility fails
to meet new seismic regulations, and the cost to expand or remodel
is prohibitive. Even if it were possible, separating services between
the two locations would mean tremendous duplication and increase
the cost of health care to everyone. Both locations would need operating
rooms, anesthesiologists and other specialized staff, multi-million
dollar imaging and lab equipment and additional duplicative support
services. It would almost be the same as staffing and equipping
two hospitals. Most likely, if we had the funds to do that, we would
choose instead to build new at one location elsewhere.
How can I learn more about the progress of the construction?
Enloe publishes a monthly newsletter for neighbors. The Enloe Century Project Neighborhood Update is posted in a PDF format, available for the public to read.
How can I donate to the Enloe Century Project?
Opportunities to support the Enloe Century Project are plentiful.
Your investment by a gift of cash, pledges up to five years in length,
stock, real estate, insurance, other valued property, annuities,
bequests and trusts are welcomed. In addition to greatly assisting
the success of this important campaign, many gifts also involve
tax advantages for donors and their families. For more information
on the Enloe
Century Campaign, you can contact Enloe
Foundation at 530.332.4550.
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