FREMONT, CA—Construction of the Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion was to be officially commemorated with a ceremonial groundbreaking at noon today.

“The Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion will answer the district's need for expanded emergency and critical care facilities and will be among the most advanced in the Bay Area,” said Nancy Farber, chief executive officer of Washington Hospital Healthcare System. “Completion of this project is critical for the Hospital to continue to provide high-quality health care services and provide them in a seismically safe facility.”

Named for the founder of Fremont Bank, thanks to a generous donation by the Fremont Bank Foundation, the new Pavilion will house a new, and expanded emergency department, which will be approximately four times the size of the current emergency department and will also house a state-of-the-art intensive care unit (ICU) as well as and an advanced coronary care unit (CCU). The new ICU and CCU will have 48 beds compared to the current capacity of 28 beds. All of the rooms will be private and larger in size. The pavilion will also have an additional 68 private med-surg beds and support space.