UCSF Breaks Ground on New ‘Hospital of the Future’
By HCO Staff
SAN FRANCISCO—More than 200 national, civic, business and academic leaders gathered at Parnassus Heights in late April for a standing-room-only event to break ground on UCSF Health’s new hospital of the future.
The function launched construction of the $4.3 billion, iconic UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital – a 15-story state-of-the-art facility that will aggregate some of the most complex care capacity in the country in one city block to serve San Francisco, the Bay Area and beyond for coming generations.
“The UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital is one of the most advanced hospitals being built in the country, expanding our ability to provide exceptional care for San Francisco and serve patients from around the world with complex health conditions,” said Suresh Gunasekaran, president and chief executive officer of UCSF Health. “This is a huge investment that will bring people to the city and solidify San Francisco’s reputation as a destination for world-class care.”
Among the dignitaries celebrating the occasion were Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, UC President Michael V. Drake and California Speaker Emeritus and UC Regent John Perez, as well as UCSF leadership and other public and private supporters.
Opening in 2030 on Parnassus Avenue, the UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital will be the eastern cornerstone of a comprehensive, 30-year plan to transform UCSF’s flagship Parnassus Heights campus and drive innovations in care delivery, discovery and health sciences education. The first decade of the plan pairs the new hospital with a research and academic building that is expected to open in 2028 on the western edge of the campus.
“This is a pivotal moment for UCSF as we break ground on a bold new vision for our historic Parnassus campus. To remain a leader in the fields of biomedical research, health sciences education and care, we are building world-class facilities to match the caliber of the people who will work in them,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “The UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital will offer state-of-the-art facilities that will bring the latest therapies to our patients. This is where the future of health care is going to be led.”
Lead architect Herzog & de Meuron and architect-of-record HDR designed the 880,000 square-foot hospital to create an optimal healing environment that integrates seamlessly into its surroundings, bringing nature, human-centered design and innovative medical care into one healing habitat.
The hospital will incorporate the latest technologies in diagnostics, robotics and surgical procedures into complex specialty care, including neurosurgery, cardiology, transplant and emergency medicine.