University of Southern California Begins Planning New Hospital

LOS ANGELES — The University of Southern California (USC) plans to to set the standard for medical technology with the opening of a new hospital on its Health Sciences Campus that will expand upon the medical care offered at the university’s Keck School of Medicine.

The new hospital plans to implement emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. Thomas Jackiewicz, CEO and senior vice president of Keck School of Medicine, envisions that the hospital will incorporate these technologies while also making patients feel comfortable and at home. Not only does Jackiewicz envision incorporating new technologies to offer a holistic patient experience, but he also hopes a new hospital would offer lower-income families who live near USC access to health care in an effort to give back to the local community.

“Health care has changed significantly since the current hospitals were built,” Jackiewicz said in a statement. “Our new facility will combine inpatient and outpatient care to reflect how health care is delivered today as well as where it’s heading. It will function as a true academic medical center, incorporating spaces uniquely designed for education of trainees as well as bringing our research closer to the patients we serve.”

Keck School of Medicine currently maintains three facilities: the 401-bed Keck Hospital of USC, the 60-bed USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital and the 158-bed USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. In the last six years, the Keck Medicine enterprise has experienced significant growth, with USC’s clinical revenues more than quadrupling, according to a statement. Since the current hospital and facilities have become outdated, a new hospital would help accommodate this expanding growth.

Construction on the hospital will not likely begin until 2020, with a scheduled completion date for 2026. Under the California Health Care Foundation guidelines, the hospital must first go through a planning phase, including a needs assessment, blueprint and budget. Then, the project will enter the design phase, in which hospital officials will finalize designs and submit drawings and specifications for official approval and to secure a building permit. After the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development has approved the project and the permit has been granted, the project team will issue a request for bids for the construction contract.