Healthcare titan plans huge South Bay medical hubs in $800 million project
SANTA CLARA — Sutter Health has unveiled plans to transform several empty office buildings in Santa Clara into two huge medical campuses that would create a healthcare destination in Silicon Valley.
The healthcare titan expects to spend $800 million on the development of the two campuses, which would sprout on locations on Mission College Boulevard near Great America Parkway, just north of U.S. Highway 101.
“This is going to improve access, it’s a lower cost of care and it provides better access points” for Sutter Health members, said Sutter Health president and chief executive officer Warner Thomas, in an interview with this news organization.
Sutter Health is teaming up with Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group and stalwart Bay Area real estate firm The Sobrato Organization to create what the healthcare organization describes as “flagship” campuses in Silicon Valley.
Together, the campuses will total 1 million square feet.
“Sutter Health is launching a visionary, future-focused phased expansion plan in the heart of Silicon Valley and across our California region to improve access to patient care that is in high demand,” Thomas said.
One cluster of buildings is located on Mission College Boulevard near Our Lady’s Way and the other group of buildings is on Mission College Boulevard near Agnew Road. The campuses are near the interchange of U.S. Highway 101 and Great America Parkway.
“Our vision is to provide a full range of healthcare services to people in the Greater Silicon Valley, ensuring they have timely access to excellent care close to home,” said Dr. Kurt VandeVort, chief executive officer of Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, which has 2,000 physicians that are aligned with Sutter Health.
The two campuses, which will be called Sutter West Santa Clara Campus and Sutter East Santa Clara Campus, will be within a mile of each other.
The western campus will total 700,000 square feet and focus on:
— Orthopedics and sports medicine
— Cancer
— Women’s health
— Heart and vascular care
The eastern campus will total 300,000 square feet and focus on:
— Comprehensive primary care
— Specialty clinics such as cardiology, neurology, urology, obstetrics and gynecology, plastics and general surgery, endocrinology, dermatology, gastroenterology and other procedural specialties
— Advanced diagnostic lab and imaging
— Primary and specialty pediatric care
— Adult and pediatric urgent care
“We know there’s growing patient demand and a significant need for access to more high-caliber healthcare services in the region,” said Sobrato chief executive officer Tony Mestres. “Together, we are uniquely positioned to bring clinical expertise and a shared commitment to community leadership and impact.”
Sutter Health aims to work with Mission College to help develop healthcare skills for students at the community college. The college has leased the land beneath the buildings to Sutter Health.
“Part of this will create a partnership around education and workforce development to train more people in healthcare,” Warner said. “We see a shortage of healthcare workers in general and we want to build a healthcare workforce in the region.”