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Insights

Innovation & Technology November 18, 2019

Patients, ribbons and excitement on the new Stanford Hospital's first day

By Mark Conley

On Sunday, Nov. 17, the new Stanford Hospital opened its doors to its first patients. Families, patients, staff, and more were on hand for the big day.

Welcome to the new Stanford Hospital! Its first day, Sunday, was a whirlwind of excitement — carefully orchestrated excitement.

https://twitter.com/DEntwistleSHC/status/1196078244946038785

At 9 a.m., the first patients were rolled across the skybridge, which connects the existing hospital at 300 Pasteur Drive with the new facility at 500 Pasteur Drive. As Helen Wilmot, a Stanford Health Care vice president explained in the day-of release:

In a period of roughly 3 ½ hours, a team of more than 1,600 Stanford Health Care employees moved hundreds of adult patients from the existing hospital to the new Stanford Hospital. On average, one patient was moved into the new hospital every three to four minutes... This is an incredible logistical feat that required months of planning. "

Peek in on the patient procession:

Once across the bridge, about 200 patients were settled into their new rooms — one per patient, plenty of privacy for all.

The new Stanford Hospital was designed for healing — with single rooms and abundant natural light.

The hospital opening also marked the split of the emergency departments into two — one for kids and one for adults.

https://twitter.com/StanfordHealth/status/1196098985280331790

With features like a rooftop garden, the 824,000-square-foot hospital keeps its focus squarely on the patients that will heal there and the staff that will work there. But it also includes top technology, including robots:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4xxyt1DLgC/

As Stanford Health Care President & CEO David Entwistle said:

The new Stanford Hospital is more than a building. It is a bold statement about our purpose and how we intend to care for our patients, not just today, but decades into the future.

Photos by Steve Fisch, Kevin Meynell; Video by Julie Greicius

About Stanford Medicine

Stanford Medicine is an integrated academic health system comprising the Stanford School of Medicine and adult and pediatric health care delivery systems. Together, they harness the full potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education and clinical care for patients. For more information, please visit med.stanford.edu.

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Associate editor

Mark Conley

Associate editor Mark Conley oversees Insights and helps edit news stories for the News Center. He also reports on ethics, health policy and transplantation, among other topics. The San Francisco State graduate joined the office after a long career in journalism — the majority spent helping shepherd an award-winning sports staff at the San Jose Mercury News. He also helped launch Lookout Santa Cruz, winning the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news with coverage of the historic winter storms of 2023. When he’s not working with words, you’ll likely find him surfing or playing pickleball.