Sutter Roseville Medical Center on Tuesday, April 28, is opening its expansion of emergency and critical care services a month early as part of its preparations for a potential surge of COVID-19 patients. Originally slated to open May 27, the 98,400-square-foot expansion doubles the Emergency Department and nearly doubles the number of critical-care beds, adding 58 more private rooms that can safely care for patients during a possible surge.

Sutter Roseville began the $178 million construction project in 2017 to meet the growing community’s demand for emergency services, critical-care rooms and interventional cardiac and neuro procedures. It is connected seamlessly to the existing Emergency Department on the first floor and surgical and critical care services on the second.

“When our team met in late February to discuss surge preparations for COVID-19, it was apparent that we needed to move up the opening of this expansion to ensure we had the highest level of care available for the expanding needs of our community and region,” said Sutter Roseville CEO Brian Alexander. “Our staff, construction partners, and state and local agencies all banded together and worked diligently to open this expansion 30 days early, but to the same high safety and quality standards.”

As a Level II trauma center serving a seven-county region, Sutter Roseville provides a higher level of care in emergency situations and is regularly preparing for public health crises. The expansion was designed with elements that will assist in those emergencies, including two emerging infectious disease isolation rooms and options to convert the Emergency Department’s expansive lobby into a treatment area in case of a large-scale disaster or patient surge.

“When our care teams helped design this expansion, they took into account numerous possible health-crisis scenarios,” Alexander said. “Because of their foresight and planning, Sutter Roseville is prepared to care for patients during this pandemic and other public-health emergencies.”

The new expansion helps Sutter Roseville stay on the forefront of exceptional, innovative care. Its features include:

• 34 additional emergency beds in private treatment rooms, increasing the total number of emergency beds to 68;
• Seven emergency triage areas that are equipped to provide treatment to patients;
• 24 additional ICU rooms, each equipped with the latest eICU telemonitoring capabilities that allow specialized physicians to assist in the care of the patients from a remote hub. Added to the 32 existing critical-care beds in the hospital, there will be 56 ICU rooms available for the sickest patients if a surge were to occur;
• Two interventional labs providing the latest technology for cardiac catheterization procedures. A third interventional lab is currently being built with additional capabilities for neuro and radiological procedures.

“California is being challenged in new ways during the COVID-19 public health crisis, and we are rising to that challenge in ways large and small across the state,” said California State Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Tehama. “Here in Northern California, one of the organizations stepping up to meet the challenge is the Sutter Health network, providing new levels of emergency and critical care at Sutter Roseville Medical Center that are so urgently needed across the region.”

The expansion provides a critical need in the community beyond the current global pandemic crisis. The Sutter Roseville Emergency Department expanded in 2005 to treat up to 60,000 patients a year, but last year saw more than 84,000 patients. The additional ICU rooms and interventional labs are also necessary additions as South Placer County is seeing more elderly patients requiring a higher-level of care.

“Strong infrastructure is one of the hallmarks of a strong community, and our capacity for protecting and promoting public health is central to that,” said State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin. “Sutter Roseville Medical Center’s continued investment in our public health infrastructure helps drive our ability to prevent disease, heal after injury or illness, and respond to both chronic health challenges and acute ones like COVID-19. My thanks to Sutter Health for stepping up to help when and where they are needed.”

This is the latest in a series of expansions Sutter Roseville Medical Center has experienced in the past two decades, transforming it from a community hospital into a regional, tertiary medical campus. The other expansions include:

• A newly constructed Patient Care Tower with 90 new beds.
• Expansion of the Family Birth Center to accommodate a community need as young families moved into South Placer County.
• The addition of a Level III NICU with 16 licensed beds to provide advanced life-saving care to critically ill newborns.
• The construction and expansion of Sutter Rehabilitation Institute, the region’s only facility dedicated exclusively to acute rehabilitation services.
• The Sutter Cancer Center, Roseville, a facility dedicated to and designed by those with cancer.
• Three medical office buildings that house Sutter Roseville physicians, along with two parking garages for staff and patients.

“As a healthcare provider, as an employer and as a supporter of this community, Sutter Roseville Medical Center has already been a strong force for good here and across Placer County and the region,” said Roseville Mayor John Allard. “Expanding its top-notch emergency service and critical care – especially now – builds on a decades-long commitment to serving the people of Roseville and beyond.”