De Paul Health Center in northeast Morgan Hill is now open, temporarily, to treat non-acute step-down patients during the current Covid-19 surge.
Portions of the center, located at 18550 De Paul Drive, have been activated for these patients as of Tuesday, Dec. 15, while Santa Clara County completes an expansive renovation of the facility.
Morgan Hill City Manager Christina Turner said at the Dec. 16 council meeting that patients are currently being treated at De Paul.
Non-acute care consists of intermediate inpatient services that are a lower level of care than an emergency room or intensive care unit.
The county’s long-term plan for De Paul Health Center is to renovate the facility for an expanded urgent care center and a skilled nursing home. The two units are separate, and the urgent care expansion will be housed in De Paul hospital’s former emergency department.
The urgent care expansion will add 36 beds to the county’s health system, and will be equipped to treat Covid-19 patients who do not require emergency or ICU care. The county’s plans for De Paul do not include ICU services.
The $37-million renovation is currently underway, and county officials expect it to be complete by February. The expansion includes a pharmacy as well as laboratory services, CT scanner, MRI machine, mammography suite, IV equipment, radiology and digital imaging.
De Paul Health Center was once the site of a busy hospital, but the building has not been occupied for any use in decades. The east side of the De Paul campus has remained active with doctors’ offices and a much smaller urgent care center.
The county purchased De Paul, located off Cochrane Road east of U.S. 101, when it bought Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy in 2018.
