When Novato Community Hospital affiliated with Sutter Health in 1985, a commitment was made to the city of Novato to build a replacement facility on a new site. This was done because the old facility could not be upgraded to accommodate the latest medical technology and meet new state seismic regulations. Also, the delivery of healthcare had changed dramatically -- with a greater emphasis on outpatient services, wellness and health maintenance.
The new hospital is the culmination of years of planning. Innovation Teams were formed in 1994 to develop a medical campus that was geared to accommodating the changing world of healthcare delivery. Innovation Team members included medical staff, hospital board members, employees and physician office staff.
The new patient focused care model was designed to provide both a "healing environment" from a physical perspective (attractive spaces, landscape elements, and patient privacy) and a restructured work environment designed to provide significant operational efficiencies in the delivery of care.
The Novato City Council gave the project final approval in October 1998 and ground was broken about a month later. The community rallied behind the new hospital and a capital campaign to raise money for medical equipment turned out to be one of the most successful in Novato history, easily surpassing raising almost $3 million.
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