Victor Valley Global Medical Center plans expansion, offers to help St. Mary Medical Center

With the future closing of an Apple Valley hospital, Victor Valley Global Medical Center plans to expand its Victorville hospital in 2022.

KPC Health officials announced this month its interest in stepping forward to preserve patient care access for the High Desert communities, given the latest announcement that Providence St. Mary’s Medical Center in Apple Valley will close.

Providence officials in June said they would partner with Kaiser Permanente to construct a new 260-bed hospital on Amargosa Road in Hesperia, pending regulatory review and approval.

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That approval came on Dec. 17 when Attorney General Rob Bonta allowed Kaiser and Providence to form a new company, St. Mary Medical Center, LLC, as they partner to construct the new hospital in Victorville.

St. Mary will close because it does not meet the more stringent seismic requirements that will take effect in 2030, adding that bringing the facility into compliance would be financially and operationally infeasible, according to Providence.

VVGMC’s expansion

“The facility expansion will commence in 2022 and will be conducted in phases,” KPC Health spokesman Jeff Corless told the Daily Press. “We expect to announce the timeline and specific plans for the first phase in Q1 of 2022.”

These significant investments aim to preserve and enhance patient care access for the High Desert communities, which is critical given the recent announcement that St. Mary’s Medical Center is closing, Corless said.

The facility expansion will include the long-planned development and buildout of existing spaces and structures, the addition of full-service acute care beds, and larger emergency room.

Also, improved surgery areas, new radiology services, a new pharmacy, and other specialty services to create greater access to a more service-rich hospital.

Assisting St. Mary

As it relates to St. Mary, KPC Health is strongly committed to preserving patient care access in Apple Valley and the High Desert through a sustainable model that benefits the community, Corless said.

“If necessary, KPC Health would consider facilitating campus improvements, including the completion of all required seismic retrofits by the state’s required deadlines,” Corless said.

Doctor Kali Chaudhuri, founder and chairman of the KPC Health-affiliated hospitals, said, “As we come out of an unprecedented pandemic, preserving and expanding health care services for the citizens of the High Desert is more important than ever before.”

Chaudhuri added that KPC’s vision is to create an ecosystem of care for our patients that enables greater local access and reduces the need to travel far distances for specialty services and treatments.”

CEO Peter Baronoff of the KPC Health-affiliated hospitals said enhancing the VVGMC campus with improved facilities and expanded services, including the KPC Cancer Center, is an excellent opportunity for the KPC Health system to improve the quality of care for the High Desert communities.

“And working with St. Mary’s Medical Center would be a step further toward preserving patient care access,” Peter Baronoff said.

In November, the Daily Press reported that Dr. Prem Reddy’s Prime Healthcare Foundation could play the financial savior for St. Mary.

Fred Ortega, the senior director of government relations at Prime Healthcare, said the foundation is willing to “save” St. Mary by contributing “at least $100 million” to upgrade and modernize the medical center seismically.

Mercy Air partnership

Victorville Mayor Debra Jones, Assemblyman Thurston ‘Smitty” Smith, and other dignitaries were on hand for the ribbon-cutting celebration of VVGMC’s partnership with Mercy Air.

KPC Health management, VVGMC, and Mercy Air officials held the ribbon cutting on Dec. 15 at the hospital located on 11th Street in Victorville.

The partnership allows a Mercy Air helicopter to station at the Victorville hospital, which will help reduce travel time for patients who require emergency air transportation.

“It was an honor to join KPC Health at their ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating their new partnership with Mercy Air,” Smith said. “Thank you and Victor Valley Global Medical Center for keeping our communities healthy.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Instagram @RenegadeReporter and Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Victor Valley Global Medical Center plans expansion for 2022