PATIENT STORIES Leaders, Communities & Team Welcome Early Opening of SRMC

On April 28, Sutter Roseville Medical Center welcomed the first patients to its newly expanded emergency and intensive care units. The team there opened these doors to greater healthcare access in the midst of a public health emergency — and they did it a month ahead of schedule, too.

Originally slated to open May 27, the 98,400-square-foot expansion doubles the Sutter Roseville Emergency Department and nearly doubles the number of critical-care beds available — an important part of Sutter Health’s plan to treat a possible surge in COVID-19 patients. 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,” says 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.”

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 69;
• 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;
• Two interventional labs providing the latest technology for cardiac catheterization procedures. A third interventional lab is currently being built out with additional capabilities for neuro and radiological procedures.

The expansion provides a critical need in the community beyond the current global pandemic crisis. The Sutter Roseville Emergency Department first expanded in 2005 to treat up to 60,000 patients per 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.

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.

SRMC Team Brings Expansion to Life

From philanthropy to design, SRMC’s team has been part of this project every step of the way.

As a part of a capital campaign to help fund the expansion, employees rallied together to contribute an astonishing $480,917.

Jodi Webb, education coordinator at SRMC, Kim Newlin, director of Cardiovascular Services, Interventional Radiology and Specialty Clinics at SRMC, and Brianna Arellano, Emergency Department staff nurse, were co-chairs for the employee giving campaign that generated a significant portion of the funds required to bring this expansion to life.

“It was fun to talk to employees about what the expansion was going to do for the hospital and what the [philanthropic] foundation does to help,” says Newlin. “And it was really great to get all the support, because now when we meet with donors out in the community, they’ll hear how much support we got internally and how much people enjoy being here.”

During this “new normal” of COVID-19, the loyalty of Sutter Roseville employees is especially profound. Many of the employees who gave to the campaign are already working around the clock and on the frontlines as the pandemic unfolds in their community. And others have been working to move up the opening to ensure their community is well cared for when it is most needed.

“We were able to get donations from someone in every single department, which was incredible,” Webb says. “I think many of our employees have a deep sense of loyalty to the community of Roseville. Even though we’re a really big hospital, I still hear often that it’s got that community feel.”

Suzanne Zolfo, director of philanthropy at Sutter Roseville Medical Center, echoes Jodi’s comments.

“We’re so proud of our entire team for having the generosity and graciousness to help fund this new facility, which happens to be absolutely critical at the time of its scheduled opening,” Zolfo says. “Employees who chose to make a gift two or three years ago are feeling a great sense of pride for helping to open this building when the people of Roseville need it the most.”
SRMC employees didn’t just help make the project possible through their financial contributions; they helped it take shape in a very real way. When Project Director Joan Touloukian points to the team who was involved “from the cardboard stages,” she’s not being figurative.

There was cardboard equipment, cardboard furniture, even cardboard clocks for the walls for the participants to maneuver as they determined the best layout and workflow for each part of the facility.

The end result, says ICU RN Betty Babock, is a balanced facility that is as conducive to quality and compassion in patient care as it is to comfort and efficiency for staff and providers. That’s really what she wants her teammates to know from her time helping plan the expansion, which she describes as one of the biggest honors of her career.

“I want them to know that each and every decision we made was based on what we thought both the staff at bedside and our patients needed and deserved,” Babcock says. “My colleagues should also know that Sutter was so accommodating and made sure to show they cared about our opinion and vision. I want them to know that, most of all, they are heroes and should be treated and shown this kind of appreciation for all that they do every day.”

Many of the features as a result of employee input will help improve patient care by, in essence, making it easier for doctors and staff to do their jobs. Some of those features include: patient rooms that are completely identical in layout; medications, supplies and workspaces that are centrally located; and a satellite pharmacy of sorts for the most critically ill or injured patients. Melissa Harris, a nurse who was part of the ED partnership council working on the project, points also to the convenient layout, the soothing designs and the spacious patient rooms when she explains how excited she is for the expansion to be unveiled for her teammates.

“A great deal of thought went into the creating of this space,” she says. “Our managers, directors, design and construction team and everyone in between really worked hard to make this a place we can be proud of and give our best care. So many people had a hand in this project and it shows. I am so excited to be a part of this and really proud to be a part of the Sutter Roseville team.”

What They’re Saying

Leaders from across the region are applauding Sutter Roseville’s help in keeping their communities safe and healthy. Here are just a few of their comments:

• California State Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Tehama: “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. 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.”
• State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin: “Strong infrastructure is one of the hallmarks of a strong community, and our capacity for protecting and promoting public health is central to that. 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.”
• Roseville Mayor John Allard: “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. 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.”