UKIAH, Calif.  – On Monday, Feb. 11, Adventist Health (AH), the parent organization of Ukiah Valley Medical Center (UVMC), approved an additional $21 million for the campus expansion that includes the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit (ED/ICU).

The total investment approved for improving the campus is $41 million.

According to UVMC Chief Executive Officer Gwen Matthews, “This is a significant investment by Adventist Health and demonstrates their commitment to our community.”

UVMC is the only hospital in Lake and Mendocino counties not limited to 25 beds, providing a depth and breadth of specialists and services that support Ukiah and surrounding communities.

Matthews confirmed, “Last year we successfully recruited nine physicians to our community, with more to come this year, and developed new services such as the Advanced Wound Center, with its hyperbaric treatment chambers, to meet the needs of our community.”

The ER includes dedicated trauma rooms as part of the expansion, as UVMC seeks to advance its current trauma designation from Trauma Level IV to a Trauma Level III.     

“Level III designation will allow us to provide services to higher acuity trauma patients,” said Matthews.

UVMC has the only trauma center in Mendocino County.

In addition to the funding from AH, Ukiah community members are making a significant investment in the expansion project.

“Our capital campaign goal is $4 million,” said Allyne Brown, director of philanthropy at UVMC. “Our generous community has invested $2.6 million to date, including $1.2 million contributed by UVMC physicians and employees.”

Groundbreaking for construction on the campus is scheduled for early summer of 2013.