Fullerton : Outpatient Facility Plan to Be Discussed

Fullerton may be one step closer to having its first outpatient surgical center if planning commissioners approve the proposed architectural plan for the facility tonight.

The plan, a joint venture by St. Jude Hospital and about 80 north Orange County physicians, calls for converting an existing supermarket at 1835 Sunny Crest Drive into a two-story medical facility that would include outpatient care, minor emergency treatment, a medical retail store and extended rehabilitation care, such as physical therapy.

Project manager Maynard Kambak said the 26,000-square-foot facility would be “one of the largest and nicest free-standing medical centers” in California. There are nine similar facilities in Orange County.

“It’s a very important complex,” Kambak said. “It’s innovative, and it’s a new approach for trying to reduce health-care costs.” Because some health plans would not pay the total amount for services, Kambak said, “this (facility) would provide services at competitive costs.”

Ronald Harper, executive vice president at St. Jude Hospital, said the project, which has been in the works about three years, reflects a growing “trend toward outpatient surgery. “We (perform) about the same number of outpatient surgery as we do inpatient surgery.”

He expects the center to average about nine or 10 patients a day.

If approved, construction on the $2-million project will begin soon after the supermarket closes on Jan. 15, Kambak said.