An 'incredible' $500M donation jump-starts UCSF's plans for a new patient-centered hospital

A $500 million donation will help the University of California, San Francisco accelerate plans to build a new hospital at its Parnassus Heights campus. 

UCSF Health patients are currently treated in one of two buildings at Parnassus Heights—the Moffit and Long hospitals—and at an ambulatory surgery center. The Moffit building, which was first built in 1955, must be rebuilt by 2030 to meet seismic codes, and the Helen Diller Foundation donation will allow that process to begin a bit sooner, the university announced.

The hospital project will cost an estimated $1.5 billion.

The new hospital, which will be built where the Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics sits now, will be outfitted with new technology, including virtual reality and robotics, according to the announcement. Langley is scheduled to move to a new location and open in 2020. 

The hospital design will offer a "welcoming, patient-centered environment that promotes warmth and respect" for patients and upholds high safety and quality standards, UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood said in the announcement.

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“This incredible commitment sets the stage for a 21st century hospital that will play a critical role in patient care for San Franciscans and our community, as well as patients from around the nation and the globe who come to UCSF for care, including highly specialized tertiary and quaternary care,” Hawgood said in the announcement. 

UCSF Health had just started initial planning on the project when the donation was made, officials said. 

 

The entire hospital complex will also be renamed the UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights in recognition of the donation, the university announced. 

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UCSF Health completed another major construction project in 2015, opening three facilities on its Mission Bay campus—a women's hospital, a children's hospital and a cancer center. Both expansions are part of the university's Long Range Development Plan, which was finalized in 2014 and prepares for global growth through 2035. 

Planning for the Mission Bay expansion began in 1999.