Emergency Department, Family Birth Center and Medical-Surgical Unit Upgrades Meet Growing Needs of Community

DAVIS, Calif.—Elected officials, community leaders and healthcare executives gathered today to commemorate the completion of a major expansion of Sutter Davis Hospital. The four-year effort, which consistently beat construction deadlines and came in under budget, will create greater access to some of the hospital’s most heavily used services.

Michael Cureton, interim CEO of Sutter Davis Hospital, Lucas Frerichs, Yolo County District 2 supervisor, Tammy Powers, CEO of Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Rachael McKinney, Greater Sacramento Market president for Sutter Health, Will Arnold, City of Davis mayor, Vanessa Errecarte, Sutter Davis Hospital Foundation Board trustee and Deven Merchant, M.D., Sutter Davis Hospital chief medical executive 

“Sutter Davis Hospital consistently is recognized for excellence and high-quality care. The hospital expansion helps support our doctors, nurses and other clinical staff to continue serving the needs of patients at a high level,” said Tammy Powers, who most recently served as the hospital’s chief administrative officer. “We are a proud member of this community and are delighted to know these enhancements will help care for future generations of families in Davis and beyond.”

The Sutter Davis Hospital expansion added 20,790 square feet and remodeled 7,364 square feet of existing space. It adds nine new beds for a total of 57 licensed beds. The construction also embraced green initiatives and designs that reduce water consumption, energy use and emissions. Construction partners included DPR Construction, Stantec Architecture, Frank M. Booth, Inc. and Rex Moore.

Sutter Davis Hospital’s expansion came in under Sutter’s budget, which had an initial estimate of $69.5 million. It was also partially funded through generous contributions from donors in the community. Philanthropic donations have historically played an important part in the hospital, as funds can be applied directly to the project without impacting other areas of care and hospital operations.

Event speakers and those in attendance commended three key expansion areas and how they broaden patient care access:

Triage space inside the newly expanded Emergency Department at Sutter Davis Hospital

Emergency Department: The department added 11,152 square feet and remodeled a little more than 3,000 square feet of existing space to expand to 18,332 square feet. The department now features additional triage/flex spaces and treatment areas for a total of 23 treatment areas. It also added four rooms designed for the unique needs of patients in mental health crisis. Other notable additions to the emergency department include a negative pressure room, which helps support infection control protocols, as well as an extra care area where team members may have private consultations with family members.

New Labor and Delivery suites feature spacious and soothing settings and state-of-the-art equipment

Family Birth Center: An additional 11,000 square feet more than doubled the Family Birth Center’s size to 21,300 square feet. It added three labor and delivery rooms (for a total of nine), four post-partum recovery suites (for a total of 16), two special procedure/delivery rooms, and three more tubs to the hospital’s popular and distinctive water birthing program (for a total of five).

Medical-Surgical Unit: Often seen as the “utility player” of hospital space, the medical-surgical unit gives patients a place to heal and recover from a variety of medical needs—whether it’s hernia surgery or complications from diabetes. The unit added five new beds (for a total of 35) through 2,857 square feet of remodeled space.

“Sutter Davis continues to serve as one of our community’s most valued partners,” said Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerichs. “These patient-centric improvements to the Sutter Davis campus will benefit residents in Davis and the greater Yolo community.”

Employees overseeing the hospital construction credit consistent communication with partners, conservative schedules and detailed planning for beating construction deadlines. Sutter Davis Hospital’s emergency department opened in September 2023 instead of October 2023. The Family Birth Center’s early May 2023 opening also beat its original estimated opening date of late June 2023. The medical-surgical unit’s opening date was in November 2022 instead of December 2022—a welcome addition of space in light of increasing hospitalizations during the time’s “tripledemic” of flu, COVID-19 and RSV. Because of the team’s careful and detailed planning, Sutter Davis Hospital made the unit’s beds available near the end of November 2022 through California’s state of emergency.  The declaration allowed for some added flexibility in emergency use of space as a temporary response to address surges.

Attendees from Sutter Davis Hospital event gathered on new emergency medical services landing site

Other important features of Sutter Davis Hospital’s expansion include an MRI trailer with a bed lift and an emergency medical service landing site to help support transportation of critical care patients. Additionally, the project included an upgrade of the central utility plant that features more efficient HVAC equipment, and expanded water and sewer storage tanks available for 72-hour emergency use. The project also features numerous sustainability measures including establishing electric vehicle charging stations, planting more than 140 trees around the campus and installing solar panels that will support approximately 20% of the hospital’s electric need.

“Sutter Health is an integral part of the services network in Davis, providing access to high quality healthcare in our community,” said City of Davis Mayor Will Arnold. “I’m proud to celebrate the expansion of patient care access and the continued support of our community’s needs.”