Local News

Surgical center breaks ground

By Eve Hightower/Appeal-Democrat

July 21, 2006

Someday people will leave 455 Plumas St. healthier and more beautiful than when they arrived. For now, it's a pile of dirt.

But that's going to change because physicians figured the time has come to build a surgical center near downtown Yuba City.

The $34 million center, a venture of Sutter North Medical Foundation and the National Surgical Hospital, will be smaller than a traditional hospital and will focus solely on surgeries. It will be the most expensive procedure on the block for a long time to come.

“In a time when health care costs are skyrocketing, the surgical hospital provides an opportunity to save costs, improve quality and provide choice to the community,” said David Yamamoto, chairman of the Sutter Surgical Hospital-North Valley.

Construction on the new facility will begin later this month, said Julie Eckardt, Sutter North Medical Foundation spokeswoman.

She said it will bring at least one new service to the Mid-Valley: Electronic Medication Administration Program, a way of tracking patients to be sure each receives the right medication at the right time, and other modern technology.

Sarah Krevans, Sutter Health Regional executive officer, said the center will help make some procedures more affordable.

“This is a community with a lot of health care needs. People were concerned with providing coverage,” she said.

Krevans said the center will not be a full-service hospital and is not meant to take away from Fremont-Rideout Health Group.

“It will focus on doing a few things really well. So we'll get things done more efficiently. Physicians can focus on providing better care for the best price,” she added.

The center will also help attract more quality surgeons to the area, said Richard Tortosa, a Sutter Surgical Hospital-North Valley Partner and board member.

This is Sutter North's first partnership of its kind with physicians, Tortosa added.

A cooperative of 17 local physicians and National Surgical Hospitals joined with Sutter North to fund the project, which makes it a unique venture, Eckardt said.

Sutter North is the surgical center's majority share owner. National Surgical Hospitals often partners with physicians to develop hospitals like the one to be constructed on Plumas Street. National Surgical Hospitals holds the hospital's management contract.

Patients who lack the cash for those kinds of services needn't worry. Sutter North's Charity Care policy will ante up for those in need.

“Sutter Surgical Hospital-North Valley will provide services to all patients regardless of their ability to pay because of the involvement of Sutter North Medical Foundation and its non-profit mission,” Eckardt said in a statement.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Eve Hightower can be reached at 749-4724. You may e-mail her at ehightower@appeal-democrat.com.