Chinese Hospital Opens New Patient Tower

SAN FRANCISCO — The Patient Tower at San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital in the Chinatown neighborhood, has completed a new building after being in the works for nearly 20 years. The last independent institution of its kind in San Francisco, will build a $180 million building with corridors connecting to the old Chinese Hospital located next door, according to SF Gate.

With the additional space added by the eight-story tower, hospital officials are expecting a reduction in overcrowding, while also attracting more patients to the nonprofit organization. When the original hospital was built in 1925, residents in Chinatown were in desperate need of health care services, as many were often not allowed to receive care anywhere else, due to discrimination at the time.

While residents today can attend any hospital of their choosing, the Chinese Hospital plays an important role in Chinatown due to the understanding of the Chinese culture. According to Brenda Yee, hospital CEO, the majority of the staff is bilingual and also knows what to provide patients with during their stay in the hospital, such as providing warm water instead of cold. The hospital provides a mixture of both Eastern and Western medicine to patients as well as a design that has kept in mind the Asian culture of many of the patients. Roughly 50 years later, the building was no longer safe for patients and until 2012 was used for administrative purposes, according to SF Gate. Construction on the Patient Tower broke ground in 2012 after years of fundraising.

One-third of the funding came from donations, one-third came from bonds and the remaining amount was taken out of the hospitals reserves, according to SF Gate. The new Patient Tower has been very important to the community; therefore members would provide whatever funding they could towards the project, including $5 donations given by seniors in the community.

The interior design features hand-painted cherry blossoms on the walls in the majority of the patient rooms, waterfall canvases that cover the walls in the hallways, as well as other distinct elements of Asian art. The calming cultural effect of the hospital is also mixed with high-tech equipment installed in every room to help patients with recovery and high quality patient experience.

Each room is equipped with a digital screen that announces which staff member will be coming into their room that day, as well as displaying recommendations on activity, diet and medication, according to SF Gate. The hospital will also feature 44 private patient rooms, an intensive care unit and a nursing department for patients who need help during their recovery. While the hospital will be able to provide basic care and procedures, it will not have the ability to provide care for more serious injuries and conditions, such as a brain injury. The Patient Tower will include two operating rooms for basic surgeries, an MRI unit and an emergency department.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Monday, April 19, but the tower will not be fully functioning until September. The hospital construction team is still working on finishing touches, bringing in the medical equipment and supplies needed for the hospital to be operational.