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University of California San Francisco breaks ground on UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital at Parnassus Heights

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Kathryn Hohs Kathryn Hohs Americas Press Office,Los Angeles
1 May 2024

University of California San Francisco (UCSF) has begun construction on the UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital at Parnassus Heights. As part of the design team, Arup is providing a suite of services including mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering, acoustics and vibration consulting, civil engineering, lighting design, logistics, and sustainability consulting.

In partnership with Mazzetti, HDR, Herzog & de Meuron, and Herrero Boldt Webcor, the project team is collaborating to realize a highly complex medical facility that integrates forward-looking, innovative design to support UCSF’s commitment to world-renowned patient care, clinical research, and training. 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.

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The project team has a combined strength of cutting-edge healthcare design capability and deep knowledge of the existing campus systems including priorities of the various campus stakeholders. That balance better enables the project team to provide renewed life to the medical campus, creating operational value and innovative care for the community. ” Raj Daswani Raj Daswani Principal

The new 15-story hospital will transform the nearly six-block campus, boosting inpatient bed capacity by 37% to 682 beds, while adding 21 new operating rooms, for a total of 40 overall, and 31 new emergency care beds, increasing capacity by 71% to 70 beds. 

The new UCSF Helen Diller Hospital at Parnassus Heights will provide much-needed capacity for additional acute, emergency and intensive care beds; incorporate the latest innovations in medical technology and equipment for advanced complex care; bridge scientific research discoveries from bench to bedside leading to accelerated innovative treatments and therapies to benefit patients; feature architecturally outstanding and environmentally sustainable design that honors and integrates with the natural beauty of its setting; and generate local labor jobs during construction and permanent jobs upon opening in 2030. 

The hospital is designed to integrate with the natural setting of the surrounding Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve, focusing on the total patient experience to promote healing, wellness, and recovery. The hospital will incorporate the latest technologies in diagnostics, robotics, and surgical procedures into complex specialty care, including neurosurgery, cardiology, transplant, and emergency medicine.

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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. 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. ” Suresh Gunasekaran President and Chief Executive Officer, UCSF Health

With the construction of the new hospital, UCSF aims to address the region’s growing demand for specialty care and improve significant capacity constraints and enhance seismic resilience. Expected to open in 2030, the hospital will enable UCSF Health, one of the premier health systems in the nation, to serve the growing health care needs of patients in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond for decades to come.