San Fernando Valley Business Journal

Simi Valley Hospital has begun construction on its new GI lab and the city's first cardiac catheterization lab.

The new facilities have been part of the hospital's master plan from the time the design for the Patient Care Tower was conceived. A large portion of the garden level of the tower was shelled out during initial construction of the building for the later completion of the GI and catheterization areas.

Bill Werner, general vice president for support services, said construction on the project is expected to take about 10 months. The hospital expects to seek licensing near the end of that time-frame.

He said the facility should be open for business in about one year.

Although Simi Valley Hospital already has a GI Lab, Werner said the new facility will be a significant improvement over the existing one.

"The current lab was built in 1985, and while it is an extremely well run and safe facility, the procedure rooms are just really small," he said. "The rooms in the new GI lab will have state-of-the-art technology and will be much more spacious in order to accommodate that modern technology. It will be just a much more pleasant experience-not just for patients but also for physicians and staff members."

The 11,000 square foot area will include two GI procedure rooms, a brochoscopy room, prep and recovery rooms, and a business area with waiting space and offices.

Werner said the new cardiac catheterization lab is actually a hybrid cath lab. "If a patient is in there for a cardiac catheterization and it is determined that they actually need heart surgery, the room can be quickly converted to a full-fledged operating suite," he said.

For the moment, there will be one cath lab constructed, but there is space for a second lab as demand for the service increases in the future.

Judy Temes