Final steps underway for new Sonoma West Medical Center on Palm Drive Hospital site

The yearlong retooling of Palm Drive Hospital, rebranded as Sonoma West Medical Center, is almost finished, with final remodel and renovation work expected to be completed by the end of this week.

Supporters of the hospital, with a slimmed down bed count and plans to offer specialty outpatient care, say they’re hoping to reopen as soon as late next week, depending on the scheduling of final bureaucratic inspections.

Raymond Hino, president and CEO of Sonoma West Medical Center, said once all the work is done state inspectors will have to sign off on the new facility.

“We are nearing the finish line. It’s pretty exciting,” Hino said, adding that the remaining construction projects include everything from remodeling the pharmacy to replacement of the hot water booster in the kitchen.

After the work is complete, officials with the Office of State Health Planning and Development will visit the hospital to make sure the work meets standards. Then a state public health inspection team must conduct an inspection to ensure that the hospital meets the requirements of a general acute care hospital.

“They’re expecting to see that we have hired qualified staff, doctors, nurses, support staff ... that we have supplies on the shelves, all of the documentation systems in place,” Hino said.

Gail Thomas, the president of the Sonoma West Medical Foundation said the hospital could begin operations almost immediately after it receives clearance from state inspectors.

“The state expects you to open the hospital and start using its supplies,” said Thomas.

The new hospital is being spearheaded by the foundation, previously called the Palm Drive Health Care Foundation. The facility is expected to be a 25-bed acute care hospital with a bevy of specialty medical institutes that would help cover the cost of inpatient services and a new emergency room.

Palm Drive officially closed its doors in April 2014, after filing its second bankruptcy since 2007. Hospital officials cited crippling competition from Santa Rosa hospitals, especially Kaiser Permanente, declining overnight patient stays and reduced health plan payments as factors in the closure.

The hospital district’s decision to shutter the hospital was strongly opposed by the foundation, which proposed a physician-led plan to keep the facility open. After the hospital closed, talks between the district and the foundation were at times strained and tense and the foundation’s plan was met with skepticism by some members of district board.

The push to reopen the hospital gained momentum after November, when two supporters of the proposal, Dr. Richard Powers and Dennis Colthurst, a retired Sebastopol police officer, were elected to the district board.

Remodel and renovation work at the hospital has kicked into high gear since the election. Four final construction projects are nearing completion. They include:

* Replacement of the liquid oxygen storage tank. The tank system requires a concrete slab for the liquid oxygen delivery truck, and that slab was poured last week.

* Anchoring of the emergency generator. A wall in the emergency department had to be reinforced and a new foundation for the generator had to be built.

* The hot water booster is expected to be replaced this week.

Lastly, the remodel of the pharmacy is expected to be completed by the end of this week, Hino said.

The opening date for the hospital depends on how soon the state inspectors can schedule their visits.

“I can’t say we’re going to open on any specific date,” Hino said. “Once they’re complete with that inspection they can make a determination that we’re eligible to open the hospital. That ideally for me would take place in the last week of May.”

Even as the final work on the hospital remodel nears completion, a group of Russian River-area residents continue to call on the Palm Drive Health Care District to “detach” them from the district’s boundaries.

During a hospital board meeting last week, the residents, who call themselves Russian River Corridor for Detachment, once again asked that their property parcels be removed from the district’s boundaries.

The group argues that they do no benefit from the health care district and historically have not used the hospital to the same extent as Sebastopol area residents. The group says the new Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital is faster and easier to get to than the new Sonoma West Medical Center.

The process of detaching Russian River corridor parcels from the district’s boundaries could either be initiated by the district board or by voter petition. The process would require a $10,000 deposit with the Sonoma County Local Agency Formation Commission, which would oversee the process.

The detachment group had hoped the district board would initiate the process and pay the $10,000 deposit. But last week, the board approved a motion to not fund the move.

Barbara DeCarly, a member of the group, said she and others are assessing their options going forward.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.