By Clyde Noel
nNeeding a two-thirds affirmative vote to pass, Measure D exceeded the mark when 70.82 percent of the voters approved the El Camino Hospital District reconstruction measure in the Nov. 4 election.The $148 million raised by issuing bonds will contribute toward rebuilding the main tower, which does not meet the state’s seismic safety laws. The entire project will cost more than $298 million. The hospital plans to use its own reserves to make up the difference.
“It was a historic day only surpassed by the first bond issue to build the hospital in 1957,” said Lee Domanico, chief executive officer of El Camino Hospital. “Everybody took their turn at getting this passed, and we should be proud of everyone, from caregivers to the many committed volunteers.”
Domanico said it was a relentless effort by hospital staff and supporters that won the day for the hospital. Board Chairman Mark O’Connor walked precincts and Board Member Ed Bough answered voters’ questions throughout the campaign.
“Stanford University Hospital has the Packards, but El Camino Hospital has the voters,” Domanico said. “I am sincerely thankful for the trust they have in us.”
Plans call for the new 310-bed main tower to feature more private rooms and be more seismically safe. The emergency room will be expanded to cut waiting times. Plans also include installation of new technology, more outpatient services, better organized parking and better communications through a network server for the medical staff.
“It’s an exceptional endorsement from the community,” said Jon Friedenberg, vice president of resource development, who led the pro-Measure D campaign. “The way technology is changing, we would have had to replace the nursing tower in the near future.”
Friedenberg said groundbreaking is scheduled for 2005 with completion in 2008. District officials currently are working on the design phase of the project, then a review process with city of Mountain View and the state. During construction, the existing tower will remain open and the hospital will continue business as usual, Friedenberg said.
