Our new hospital opened in 2014 to offer state-of-the-art care for people in Sonoma County. Featuring a modern design, new technology and the best in green building construction, it embraces the future of our neighborhood and community.
We’re Breaking New Ground
Sutter Health we will be investing $158 million to expand the hospital to increase capacity. The first phase is for a three-story tower to be completed in April 2022 followed by a renovation to expand the emergency department and support services in Fall 2022.
- 40 additional all-private patient rooms
- 2 additional operating rooms
- 1 additional endoscopy room
- 13 additional outpatient care unit beds
- 11 additional post-acute care unit bays
- 9 additional emergency department bays
LEED Certification
With its eye towards sustainability, Sutter Santa Rosa was built according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, an internationally recognized green building certification system used to transform the built environment to sustainability.
Using a 100-point checklist, LEED promotes a whole-building approach that measures compliance in nine key areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, location and community linkages, awareness and education, innovation in design and regional priorities.
Sutter Santa Rosa has unique LEED-compliant innovations including:
- A dedicated lane that allows you to bypass the Wells Fargo access road to reach the emergency room. There’s also a separate entrance for ambulance traffic.
- Bioswales that channel runoff water into landscaped areas for collection and natural filtering before entering the storm drain system.
- A highly efficient outdoor water system, as well as landscaping that features drought-resistant plants. Both help reduce our water usage by 50 percent.
- Low-flow indoor water fixtures that decrease water consumption by 34 percent
- An electric vehicle recharging station.
Landscaping
Native vegetation and trees beautify the grounds around Sutter Santa Rosa and create an aesthetically pleasing environment for you to enjoy. Three contained gardens, some with stucco walls, terraces and stone water features, grace the main hospital entrance.
In addition to their beauty, the gardens have also been designed to conserve water. They require low supplemental water, while their irrigation systems minimize overspray and runoff.
"These garden spaces were created to serve as tranquil settings where people can come to relax, relieve stress associated with hospital experiences, savor a bag lunch or simply have a private moment," says William Mastick, principal with Quadriga Landscape Architecture and Planning.
Clean Fuel
Our utility plant provides up to 600 kilowatts of power, incorporating clean fuel technology developed by Bloom Energy.
Bloom fuel cells provide up to 70 percent of our annual electrical needs while reducing greenhouse gases. They do so by converting fuel into electricity through a clean electrochemical process, rather than dirty combustion.
Meanwhile, Bloom’s Energy Servers produce clean energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, generating more electrons than intermittent solutions and delivering faster payback and greater environmental benefits for the hospital.
Water System
Unique among hospitals, Sutter Santa Rosa owns and operates its own water system for all potable, irrigation and fire protection needs. Licensed by the California Department of Public Health, our water system supplies all water for both the hospital and medical office building, since the existing Larkfield area community water system can’t provide all the water we need.
The system is highly redundant in design and was engineered to continue operating through natural disasters, particularly earthquakes. Two 600-foot water wells hold high-quality water that’s pumped into our water treatment building, located adjacent to the central utility plant behind the hospital. We then treat the raw water from the well to meet all state and federal requirements, store it and pump it into the hospital for all potable uses. The water wells and treatment building are all connected to the hospital generators, so in the event that we lose PG&E electrical power, we still have access to water and don’t need to rely on the community water system.
The state requires regular testing and reporting of water quality and operations to ensure high-quality water, so a state-licensed company operates and maintains the water treatment system.
Fire Protection
We have our own standalone fire suppression system. All of the fire hydrants around the hospital and medical office building are supplied with 2.1 million gallons of water stored under the emergency-department parking lot in six 350,000-gallon tanks. Two massive fire pumps provide enough water pressure to all the fire hydrants around the site, as well as the internal fire sprinkler system.
During the Tubbs Fire in 2017, local firefighters used more than 500,000 gallons of water from our tanks to battle the wildfires, including extinguishing the blaze at the nearby Luther Burbank Center for the Arts.
Storm Management
At Sutter Santa Rosa, our goal is to have minimal impact on the surrounding environment and the municipal storm drainage system. To that end, our storm water management system slows down and cleans surface-runoff water, providing natural ways for it to evaporate or be absorbed into the soil. This unique design follows low impact development techniques and best management practices.
Large 15-foot-wide, one-foot-deep vegetated swales channel storm water from nearly 1,000 spaces in our parking lots. This network treats and captures water, and then holds moisture until it can gradually evaporate, infiltrate the soil or enter the atmosphere by "evapotranspiration" through tree leaves.
In addition, bio-retention planters in our large parking-lot islands and landscaped areas capture and treat runoff from parking areas and building roof downspouts. We backfill these large excavated areas with permeable granular material and then overlay them with sandy loam, mulch and pea gravel that help treat the water.
Finally, we’ve installed Kristar TREEPOD biofilters and CUDO water storage systems along Mark West Springs Road. Connected to tree planters, these Kristar pre-cast concrete basins serve as drainage inlets. Pre-filtration chambers catch trash, debris and coarse sediments from the roadway and treat storm water. Meanwhile, the CUDO system captures storm water runoff from paved parts of the road and absorbs some of it into the underlying soil.
"Using these advanced control measures, we can treat virtually 100 percent of the storm water runoff from ‘first flush’ storms that drain from the building’s surfaces,” says John Thompson, a professional engineer and associate with Brelje & Race, civil and environmental engineers, surveyors and land planners. “These LID measures also allow us to better manage storm water, allowing it to infiltrate the soil and help more native plants, trees and grasses grow and thrive.”
Technology Initiatives
We’ve implemented a variety of new technology initiatives to help our staff serve you more efficiently and concentrate on giving you the best care possible, with your safety in mind.
Computer Tablet Pilot
Sutter has advanced technology to support staff on the go. Tablet PCs with an iPhone application allows them to access electronic health records. When you’re in the hospital, we can also deliver your EHR to your Wi-Fi or cellular device via a secure, encrypted data system.
Wireless Computer Carts
To reduce trips to and from patient rooms to the nursing station, our team uses mobile computer carts that they can roll into patient rooms to update charts, schedule treatments and access data.
Patient Identification
We’ve implemented a monitoring system that can identify and track medical equipment and patients, including babies, wherever they go in the hospital. The system uses sensors at the doors and exits, along with radio frequency identification tags similar to the FasTrak system used when commuters pass through tollbooths.
Security
Our new security net gives patients and staff a strong sense of security and safety. A highly sophisticated security system, using card readers with memory devices and traditional security cameras, prevents unauthorized access to laboratories, pharmacies and public areas of the building, including lobbies, halls and exits. With this innovation, management can lock down the facility in the event of adverse internal or external events, such as theft or an attempted infant or patient abduction.
We’ve also installed security cameras in patient rooms, with the exception of the ICU, where cameras are turned away from the patient.
Noise Reduction
Beyond the many green and sustainable aspects of Sutter Santa Rosa, we’ve installed the latest technology advancements to reduce noise in and around patient rooms. Some innovations reduce or eliminate fan noise, while others monitor refrigeration systems to keep them operating at peak efficiency. Rubber wheels and carpets in hallways help minimize noise and enhance patient comfort.