First responders are concerned about how a major expansion project at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento may affect ambulance wait times, according to a March 19 CBS News Sacramento report.
A 1-million-square-foot construction project, which will increase the number of hospital beds from 625 to 700 and meet seismic requirements for hospitals set by the state, is currently underway. At least 70 hospital beds are closed amid the construction process.
"When there is no bed available when a patient is brought in on a gurney, they become the bed and they can sometimes sit there for upwards of four, five, 10 hours before they can move that patient to a hospital bed," which could push up response times, Parker Wilbourn, Metro Fire battalion chief, told the news outlet. "There's got to be a reimbursement … We are, right now, hemorrhaging money of the taxpayers' dollars to cover our staff augmenting hospital staff. It's not right."
When construction, regular maintenance and upgrades are taking place, beds being temporarily unavailable is nothing out of the ordinary, the health system said in a statement to Becker's.
"Due to ongoing maintenance and upgrades, the overall number of beds will expand and contract at different times over the next several years. This is nothing new. UC Davis Medical Center regularly has construction and maintenance underway within the hospital, and every hospital has these types of bed count adjustments on a regular basis," UC Davis Health said.
"We are building a much-needed and expanded facility that will result in more beds and better serve Sacramento-area residents at the region's largest hospital."
The $3.75 billion expansion project, which is called the California Tower, is slated to be complete in 2030.