After nearly one year of extensive open and public hearings to develop a new hospital master plan, Tri-City Healthcare District's board of directors voted unanimously May 29 to place a $589 million bond measure on the August mail ballot.
District voters will have 29 days to cast their mail ballots before the Aug. 26 election deadline. If the measure passes, the bond money will be used to rebuild portions of Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside.
“As a Tri-City hospital patient several times during the last year, I personally understand what it means to have access to a quality medical institution right here in my community,” said Board Member RoseMarie Reno before supporting the measure. “I am acutely aware that we are in challenging economic times, but each day we don't move forward on rebuilding our hospital, it becomes more costly. We just can't afford not to do this now.”
The medical center, which is owned by residents of Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista, is seeking the funds in order to reduce emergency room overcrowding and wait times and to increase medical access following disasters. In addition, the funds would be used to improve, modernize and upgrade the hospital's emergency department and intensive, cardiac and urgent care units.
The medical facility, which was established in 1961, has two significant bed towers, which according to seismic construction experts, are not in compliance with an unfunded, state-mandated requirement that they be retrofitted or rebuilt by January of 2013. Under the law, the state will suspend the operating license of all non-compliant hospitals that fail to meet that deadline, thereby closing the acute care facilities.
“We must create a seismically safe environment for our staff, our nurses, our patients and the public,” said Board Member Darlene Garrahy. “Look what just happened in China. We must have a facility that can serve the public in the event of a disaster, and not become a casualty of the disaster.”
Tri-City attempted to pass bond measures twice in 2006 and came just short of the required two-thirds vote needed to win. As a result, the board hired a new master planning consulting firm to re-evaluate the district's master plan and conduct an extensive public outreach effort to ensure that any plan included community and stakeholder input.
After an exhaustive six month process, which included an extensive review of three options, the board voted Jan. 10 to adopt a new Master Facilities Planning Study. The study calls for 50 percent new construction and renovating the remaining 50 percent of the facility at a cost of $778 million and a completion date of 2017.
With sensitivity to current economic conditions and concern for public affordability of the project, the board asked consultants in March to evaluate and recommend various phasing and construction options that could reduce overall project costs, meet mid-term patient census projections and comply with state seismic requirements.
In May, the planners developed an option that would reduce costs by accelerating construction of both bed towers, constructing portions of the facility now and deferring other portions to the future and breaking up the overall project into smaller pieces that could be more competitively bid. The result was a project cost of $589 million, a reduction of $189 million from the overall master plan.
The bond measure was placed on an all mail ballot to ensure that every one of the district's 139,000 voters have an opportunity to decide on the future of health care in their community.
“This is an issue each and every voter in this community should decide on, not in a political setting at a polling place, but in the privacy of their own home. Their health care future and their quality of life, and that of their family's, is what is at stake,” said Board Member Ron Mitchell.
Not waiting for the November general election also has financial incentives. The estimated cost of construction escalation is just under $3 million per month, so the district and taxpayers would save nearly $6 million by starting the project two months earlier.
“I think the savings alone justify going in August,” said Board Member David Tweedy. “Even more importantly, that added two months allows us the time needed to barely meet the 2013 seismic deadline.”
To review the district's Master Facilities Planning Study, the implementation alternatives addendum or the bond resolution, go to www.tricitymed.org and click on the “Campus Development” link.
District voters will have 29 days to cast their mail ballots before the Aug. 26 election deadline. If the measure passes, the bond money will be used to rebuild portions of Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside.
“As a Tri-City hospital patient several times during the last year, I personally understand what it means to have access to a quality medical institution right here in my community,” said Board Member RoseMarie Reno before supporting the measure. “I am acutely aware that we are in challenging economic times, but each day we don't move forward on rebuilding our hospital, it becomes more costly. We just can't afford not to do this now.”
The medical center, which is owned by residents of Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista, is seeking the funds in order to reduce emergency room overcrowding and wait times and to increase medical access following disasters. In addition, the funds would be used to improve, modernize and upgrade the hospital's emergency department and intensive, cardiac and urgent care units.
The medical facility, which was established in 1961, has two significant bed towers, which according to seismic construction experts, are not in compliance with an unfunded, state-mandated requirement that they be retrofitted or rebuilt by January of 2013. Under the law, the state will suspend the operating license of all non-compliant hospitals that fail to meet that deadline, thereby closing the acute care facilities.
“We must create a seismically safe environment for our staff, our nurses, our patients and the public,” said Board Member Darlene Garrahy. “Look what just happened in China. We must have a facility that can serve the public in the event of a disaster, and not become a casualty of the disaster.”
Tri-City attempted to pass bond measures twice in 2006 and came just short of the required two-thirds vote needed to win. As a result, the board hired a new master planning consulting firm to re-evaluate the district's master plan and conduct an extensive public outreach effort to ensure that any plan included community and stakeholder input.
After an exhaustive six month process, which included an extensive review of three options, the board voted Jan. 10 to adopt a new Master Facilities Planning Study. The study calls for 50 percent new construction and renovating the remaining 50 percent of the facility at a cost of $778 million and a completion date of 2017.
With sensitivity to current economic conditions and concern for public affordability of the project, the board asked consultants in March to evaluate and recommend various phasing and construction options that could reduce overall project costs, meet mid-term patient census projections and comply with state seismic requirements.
In May, the planners developed an option that would reduce costs by accelerating construction of both bed towers, constructing portions of the facility now and deferring other portions to the future and breaking up the overall project into smaller pieces that could be more competitively bid. The result was a project cost of $589 million, a reduction of $189 million from the overall master plan.
The bond measure was placed on an all mail ballot to ensure that every one of the district's 139,000 voters have an opportunity to decide on the future of health care in their community.
“This is an issue each and every voter in this community should decide on, not in a political setting at a polling place, but in the privacy of their own home. Their health care future and their quality of life, and that of their family's, is what is at stake,” said Board Member Ron Mitchell.
Not waiting for the November general election also has financial incentives. The estimated cost of construction escalation is just under $3 million per month, so the district and taxpayers would save nearly $6 million by starting the project two months earlier.
“I think the savings alone justify going in August,” said Board Member David Tweedy. “Even more importantly, that added two months allows us the time needed to barely meet the 2013 seismic deadline.”
To review the district's Master Facilities Planning Study, the implementation alternatives addendum or the bond resolution, go to www.tricitymed.org and click on the “Campus Development” link.