California Northstate University Reveals Plans for New Teaching Hospital

By Roxanne Squires

ELK GROVE, Calif. — California Northstate University (CNU) recently unveiled ambitious plans to build a 250-bed teaching hospital adjacent to its campus in Elk Grove as the University has officially submitted plans to the City of Elk Grove to begin the next step toward construction.

The CNU Medical Center will provide the city and region with much-needed access to Level II trauma care, acute and comprehensive medical care, and physician training.

According to BizJournal, the nearest trauma center to Elk Grove is currently Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento, which is also Level II, but has the busiest emergency department in the region, creating a demand for a more conveniently located trauma center.

The hospital will aim to improve both public safety and emergency response times and is expected to create more than 24,000 new jobs over the next decade.

Additionally, it will help reduce traffic to and from Sacramento, and CNU will work with the city to create transit routes to the medical center for local employees.

“California Northstate University Medical Center hospital will serve the critical medical needs of the Elk Grovecommunity and Sacramento region with the highest quality care,” said CNU CEO & President Dr. Alvin Cheung. “It will have a profound and lasting impact on our community, giving patients easy access to care, while creating jobs, improving public safety and reducing the traffic that has become a central issue in Elk Grove.”

“There is a review process that must occur but this can be a win-win and a great asset for Elk Grove, providing easier access to health care by reducing the need to travel long distances and creating quality local jobs,” said Elk Grove City Councilmember Darren Suen.

Renderings reveal the new facility will stand as a 475,000-sqaure-foot building and is projected to cost approximately $750 million. The hospital has tapped Fong & Chan Architects of San Francisco to design the project, and the facility is scheduled to begin construction in 2019 and reach completion by 2022.