St. John’s Moves Forward with Hospital Addition

CAMARILLO, Calif. — The City of Camarillo Planning Commission gave St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital the go-ahead on May 11 to proceed with the design and construction of the hospital’s new addition and modernization.

The Camarillo Architectural Review committee, city staff and city commissioners approved plans from the design/build team of Kitchell/Devenney Group, a joint venture between construction firm Kitchell and architect Devenney Group, both based in Phoenix. Local supporters submitted multiple statements endorsing the project to the planning commission, according to a statement from the design/build team.

The 72,342-square-foot addition will meet state-required seismic safety standards for acute-care facilities. When the project is complete, acute-care services located in the existing hospital will be relocated to the new addition.

St. John’s Hospital is part of the Dignity Health-Central Coast network, which includes three other hospitals throughout California.

For the past eight months, Kitchell/Devenney Group has worked with stakeholders, including community members, to ensure all groups impacted by construction are fully aware of the project’s plans and phasing. In 2013, the Camarillo City Council requested to be informed of all plans for construction after learning through newspaper reports, rather than Dignity Health, about the closure of the hospital’s obstetrics unit, according to the Camarillo Acorn.

“We are pleased that the Camarillo Planning Commission gave its unanimous approval to proceed with the patient addition and hospital modernization project,” said Darren W. Lee, president and CEO for St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo and St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, in a statement. “This project represents a significant investment in the community by Dignity Health St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital, and ensures the availability of health care services in Camarillo for the future.”

Plans for the new patient addition and modernization include a new hallway to connect new services with the existing emergency department, imaging and the intensive care unit. The new building will also include 50 additional private patient rooms, which will be twice the square footage of existing rooms, on top of existing rooms in the emergency and ICU areas of the hospital. Each new room will feature computer screens to record patient information.

Construction for the addition will also include a new surgery suite that includes two general operating rooms, an orthopedic operating room and a cardiac catheterization lab. The project will also include a pre-operative/post-anesthesia care unit.

Laurie Eberst, vice president of Dignity Health operations in Southern California, told the Camarillo Acorn that Dignity Health hopes the addition will keep patients in Camarillo as they recover, especially from heart-related conditions. Eberst said the hospital wants to boost its cardiology services because most people in Camarillo go to UCLA, Ventura County Medical Center or Los Robles Hospital.

The new building will also include a lobby, gift shop, chapel and pharmacy, as well as a dining area, kitchen and servery. Outside the hospital, construction will include additional parking spaces and charging stations for electric vehicles. Solar panels in the parking area and drought-resistant landscaping will also be added.

Diginity Health is providing roughly $70 million for the project, and about $10 million will be raised through fundraising efforts.