Kaiser Permanente leaders break ground on $1 billion expansion of Roseville hospital campus

Kaiser Permanente leaders formally kicked off a $1 billion construction project Friday that will include a six-floor hospital tower at the Roseville Medical Center, adding 138 hospital beds and 36 emergency department beds.

The tower also will house six operating rooms, a pharmacy, and additional imaging and diagnostics. This 272,000-square-foot structure will eliminate some parking spaces, so Kaiser is building a parking garage with 803 stalls. The project, which also includes offsite parking, is expected to be completed by 2027.

“It’s really exciting for our community. It’s greatly needed on this campus,” said Kim Menzel, Kaiser’s senior vice president and area manager, in an interview following the groundbreaking. “We serve about 360,000 members ... in this general service area, and we really need these hospital beds for our sickest patients.”

Regional civic and political leaders joined Kaiser’s staff and physicians at the Roseville campus, 1600 Eureka Road, to mark the occasion. Menzel said the project will bring hundreds of new jobs to the community.

Speaking at the event, Placer County Supervisor Suzanne Jones recalled when Kaiser constructed its first “little tiny building” in the middle of the huge parcel of land that would become its Roseville campus.

Jones said that today, “the health care and social services industry is a primary component of South Placer economy and has outpaced growth in California and the nation.”

“As a result of sustained growth, the industry accounts for over 27,000 jobs, or about 15%, of all jobs in our region,” she continued. “Moreover, employment in this industry ... provides a stable pool of employment opportunities even during periods of considerable economic tumult.”

Roseville Mayor Bruce Houdesheldt recalled a time 31 years ago when he had to drive in the wee hours of the morning to Kaiser’s hospital in South Sacramento because the company didn’t yet have a Roseville medical center. The current expansion, he said, will ensure that Roseville remains a desirable place to live, work and play.

Kaiser currently is licensed for 352 beds at its Eureka Road hospital, according to state records. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however, hospital leaders realized there was a need for more hospital beds, access to emergency care and space for more physicians, said Dr. Richard Florio, physician-in-chief at Kaiser Roseville.

The company estimated construction costs alone for the tower at $298 million in 2022. Menzel said the company is expecting to spend roughly $1 billion in total for the new tower, parking garage, the offsite parking lot, equipment, furnishings, utility infrastructure upgrades, design, and other non-construction costs.

Kaiser Permanente has a number of other projects in the Sacramento region, including plans for a medical center at the downtown Railyards project, an expanded emergency department at the South Sacramento Medical Center and a comprehensive care center in Folsom.