Why Now?

Stanford University Medical Center must renew and replace facilities to comply with new seismic safety standards, address capacity shortage and to accommodate advances in modern medicine.

Senate Bill 1953 requires Stanford Hospital to complete seismic upgrades by 2015 or risk being shut down.

However, earthquake safety is just one factor driving the project forward. There are many more equally important reasons for the Renewal Project.

Built during the Eisenhower era, Stanford Hospital facilities are outdated and no longer have sufficient capacity to meet the community’s demand for healthcare. The facilities must be rebuilt to accommodate modern healthcare practices such as single-patient rooms, which improve infection control and increase patient privacy and comfort.

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, which cares for some of the most critically ill children in the world, is at maximum capacity and must expand to accommodate more patient rooms.

The Emergency Department, which serves both Hospitals, is undersized and needs to be replaced to provide the best quality of care for Palo Alto and surrounding communities now and in the future.