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Adventist Health outlines $220 million countywide investment and Epic rollout to ease clinician burden
Summary
Adventist Health Central Coast's president detailed investments in facilities and workforce, including a roughly $220 million investment at Sierra Vista for expanded emergency, labor/delivery and ICU capacity, plans for a county emPATH behavioral health unit, physician recruitment efforts, and an August rollout of the Epic electronic medical record system to improve patient access and reduce clinician charting time.
Ryan Ashlock, president of Adventist Health Central Coast, gave the Paso Robles City Council a broad update May 5 on the health system's local investments and operational plans.
Ashlock described Adventist Health as a 27‑hospital, faith‑based nonprofit system concentrating resources on people, access, facilities, technology and community partnerships. He said the system is investing roughly $220 million in Sierra Vista to add a new emergency department, labor and delivery and postpartum units, operating rooms, an intensive care unit and expanded inpatient rooms. "Over the next several years, we will be investing over $220,000,000 into Sierra Vista bringing a new emergency department, new labor and delivery and postpartum units, new operating and procedure rooms, a new intensive care unit," Ashlock said.
He also noted plans to open an emPATH behavioral health unit at Twin Cities that will allow up to 23‑hour stays for people in acute behavioral health crisis before transfer to an appropriate setting. Ashlock said Adventist Health will also deploy Epic—an industry‑leading electronic medical record—on August 30, including ambient‑listening features to reduce clinician after‑hours charting and improve scheduling and test‑result access for patients.
Councilmembers asked about primary‑care recruitment and how technology and operations might help; Ashlock said Epic and other investments could reduce clinician burnout and make the market more attractive to recruits, while he acknowledged broader reimbursement challenges tied to Medicare formulas.
The presentation emphasized Adventist Health's local hiring, philanthropic foundation, community partnerships and a focus on expanding primary care and behavioral‑health capacity in the North County.
