Kaiser Permanente hosted a celebration on April 1, 2026, to mark the start of construction on a new hospital tower at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas, Oregon.
The new facility is scheduled to open in 2029.
Andersen Construction is the contractor for the project.
The event brought together Kaiser Permanente leaders, employees, community members and elected officials to celebrate a major milestone for health care in the region.
"Since opening our doors in 1975, Sunnyside Medical Center has been a place where lives are saved, families begin, and people come for care at every stage of life," said Wendy Watson, regional president of Kaiser Permanente in the Northwest.
A highlight of the event was an augmented reality moment, where a digital visualization of the planned future hospital tower was revealed. Kaiser Permanente said the 7-story, 615,000-sq.-ft. hospital tower will feature leading-edge technology, expanded capacity and modern patient amenities, including:
• 100 percent private patient rooms;
• in-room telemedicine capabilities, advanced robotics and image-guided surgical equipment;
• expanded emergency department capacity to reduce wait times;
• easy navigation for patients, staff and visitors; and
• natural light, green spaces, walking paths and healing gardens.
This hospital will be fully electric, significantly reducing its carbon footprint. The facility also is targeting LEED Gold certification. Once complete, it will become Kaiser Permanente's 87th LEED-certified building, adding to the largest group of LEED-certified health care facilities in the United States.
Sunnyside Medical Center opened in 1975. Today, more than 2,300 doctors, nurses and health care professionals provide care for tens of thousands of patients each year, perform thousands of surgeries, and deliver more than 2,000 babies annually.
During peak construction, the project is expected to employ more than 600 local tradespeople, supporting the regional economy. When the new tower opens in 2029, the existing hospital building is scheduled to be replaced with additional parking, walkways and outdoor spaces.
The medical center is home to Kaiser Permanente's regional centers for neurosurgery and adult cancer care, a Level III NICU, and the Northwest Center for Heart and Vascular Care.
Sunnyside Medical Center is one of two Kaiser Permanente hospitals that serve Oregon and southwest Washington; the other is Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro, Ore., which opened in 2013.
