St. Louis (January, 2012) - The excavation for the site of the new Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California is well underway.  Visitors have been amazed at the sight of the large "hole" that seems to have appeared overnight.  As the excavation work progresses, workers continue the process of installing shoring beams and walls around the perimeter of the excavation area to secure the soil.

The six-story, 325,000 square foot Hospital is being built next to the current hospital at 147 N. Brent St., and is scheduled to open in 2015.  It will have 250 private rooms, comfortable space for families and a healing garden on the grounds.

The new CMH, which meets seismic demands, also will have a larger Emergency Room and greater imaging capability than the present hospital.  It also will have additional Heart Catheterization Labs, expanded Intensive Care and Cardiac Care Recovery Units, and a larger Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  The hospital's 10 surgical theaters will have leading-edge medical technology.

"We will provide state-of-the-art care in a facility that is truly state-of-the-art," said Gary Wilde, President and CEO of CMHS.  The new hospital will meet the needs of the community for the next 50 years, Wilde said, and will feature environmentally friendly "green" components such as triple-paneled glass windows that will reduce heating and air-conditioning costs.

Click here to view video of the CMH Site Excavation.

ABOUT HBE: 

HBE Corporation is the nation’s leading designer and builder of hospitals, including replacement hospitals and hospital renovations and additions.  The company has designed and built more than 1,100 hospitals in 49 states, and is ranked as the number one hospital design-build firm in the United States.  Headquartered in St. Louis, HBE is one of the largest privately held companies in the Midwest with a staff of 400 people including architects, engineers and construction professionals.