Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Fontana is a large Kaiser Permanentemedical facility and 420-bed hospital in Fontana, California. Built in 1955 to replace the smaller hospital at the Kaiser Steel Mill, the facility now serves over 400,000 members of Kaiser Permanente's health care plans in the area. The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission. According to U.S. News & World Report, the hospital performs highly in diabetes & endocrinology, ear, nose & throat, geriatrics, pulmonology, and urology. In the most recent year with available data, Kaiser Fontana had 90,675 emergency department visits, 26,640 admissions, performed 4,956 inpatient and 21,790 outpatient surgeries.
History
In 1943, Henry J. Kaiser and Dr. Sidney R. Garfield opened a 50-bed hospital, housing six physicians for the 3000 employees and their families at the new Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana, California, offering a then revolutionary pre-paid health care plan for $0.60/week for adults, and $0.30/week for children. In 1945, the Kaiser Permanente health plan was opened to the public, providing the opportunity of affordable health care to the residents of Fontana. Following the end of World War II, as the steel mill and community continued to grow, the demand rapidly outgrew the small facility, and in 1955, the hospital was moved to its current location on Sierra Ave. It has undergone an almost constant pace of expansion and remodel to reach its current state, with major expansions about once a decade; it now contains over 400 beds, houses over 150 doctors, and employs 6000.
New construction
In 2009, construction started on a 'replacement hospital' on the Fontana Campus. The new 7-story facility, being built to meet requirements of CA Senate Bill 1953 and slated to open in 2013, will have 314 beds and offer major technological and systematic improvements over the current, aging facility. The new hospital is pursuing LEED certification by the US Green Building Council. Environmentally friendly features of the building include: energy efficient lighting, use of reclaimed water for landscaping and cooling towers, dual pane exterior window glazing, and natural day lighting.
