Project category: Project in progress (December 2009)

Chief administrator: John Friel, CEO and Administrator, (209) 848-4102

Firm: Moon Mayoras Architects, Inc., (619) 235-9780

Design team: Project Architects, Moon Mayoras Architects, Inc.; Structural Engineering, Degenkolb Engineers; Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Syska Hennessy Group; Medical Equipment and Communications Planning, Gene Burton & Associates; Interior Design, Brandt Design Group

Illustration: Moon Mayoras Architects, Inc.; todocad.com

Total building area (sq. ft.): 132,000 (Replacement Hospital and Central Utility Plant)

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $341

Total construction cost (excluding land): $45,000,000

The master plan for the new Oak Valley Hospital is a multiphase approach to replace all of the aging existing facilities on the campus. Oak Valley Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute care district hospital serving Stanislaus and southeast San Joaquin County, located in Oakdale, California, in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley.

The master plan includes a new 58-bed hospital, a Medical Office Building (MOB) that contains the hospital’s Administration Center, an adjacent Central Utility Plant (CUP), and the relocation of a street right-of-way. Oak Valley Hospital District is replacing the current hospital in three phases. The first phase consists of the realignment of the J Street connection, construction of the 10,000-square-foot CUP, and construction of the 50,000-square-foot MOB and Administration Center. During the second phase, existing support buildings will be demolished and the two-story, 122,000-square-foot replacement hospital will be built. The final phase will see the demolition of the existing hospital and installation of site improvements and parking.

The site is organized into three components. The building zone serves to divide the public area to the northeast and the staff, physician, and deliveries areas to the west. Pedestrians flow between the MOB and hospital without crossing traffic. The public side’s link to Oak Street and the main entrance is clearly visible. The back side provides an area for deliveries and service vehicles, away from the public side.

The facility is designed to accommodate a patient-centered care model of health delivery and uses a two-story lobby area that provides centralized access to Registration, Imaging, Surgical Services, Emergency Service, elevators, and the gift shop. A skylight in the central rotunda accents the entrance, and 27-foot-high windows run the length of the lobby, bathing the public areas in natural light. The public flows directly to services along a perimeter corridor that leads to the dining room and out to the adjacent MOB. A separate corridor for staff and patients provides a clear division of public and patient/staff flow to preserve patients’ dignity and privacy for staff and physicians.

The first floor of the new hospital houses the 12-position Emergency Department. Ambulances will deliver patients to the southeast corner of the unit from J Street, and ambulatory patients will enter from the north. The public waiting room has 24-hour access that can be locked off from the rest of the facility at night. The Surgery Center contains four large Operating Rooms, pre- and post-op rooms served by a central Nurses’ Station, two Endoscopy rooms, one Minor Procedures room, and consultation rooms. Food Service will serve inpatients through an adjacent elevator. Public and staff will use the service area and an 80-person dining room featuring natural light from the east and north. An outdoor dining patio is located between the MOB and hospital.

On the second floor, all of the 42 Medical/Surgical rooms are private and feature a family/visitor area with a daybed and desk. The Nurses’ Station follows a decentralized charting model, with multiple charting and work areas. The second floor also houses Women’s Services, containing LDRP, postpartum and antepartum patient rooms, and the nursery. The LDRP rooms include a shower, Jacuzzi, baby resuscitation area, baby bathing sink, stereo, and TV. The Intensive Care Unit is also located on this floor. Each of the six ICU beds can be observed from a decentralized charting station located directly outside the room.

The design of the new buildings pulls in architectural components from the surrounding community. The stone wainscot will scale down the façade to relate to the human scale. Landscaping will feature indigenous plantings and materials.