Sutter Health is seeking a pivotal city approval for Elk Grove's first community hospital, part of a 488,000-square-foot, tech-friendly medical campus that will ease the stay of some short-term patients.

The health system already has two medical office buildings on the 41-acre site southeast of Laguna and Big Horn boulevards.

If the Elk Grove Planning Commission gives its initial thumbs up Dec. 4, the project could proceed in stages, starting with an ambulatory surgery center and medical office building completed in about two years.

In 2012, Sutter Health also hopes to have completed the first phase of the hospital, a 133,000-square-foot facility with 68 licensed beds at the start.

The project at that stage could produce about 250 to 300 jobs for medical and support staff, said Sutter spokeswoman Nancy Turner.

But more phases with more medical offices and licensed beds would occur in later years, as demand grows. Project cost has been estimated at $200 million.

Elk Grove's growing medical services is a bright spot in a frustrating economy for Mayor Gary Davis.

"We're aggressively going after those industries that are growing," Davis said Tuesday. "If we can capture more good-paying jobs, that will be a benefit to Elk Grove."

In recent years, the city has been a draw for medical offices.

And next June to July, Kaiser Permanente expects to have a trauma center operational at its south Sacramento medical center, spokeswoman Kathleen McKenna said.

In addition, Catholic Healthcare West, operator of the area's Mercy hospitals, closed escrow Friday on 30 acres near Elk Grove Boulevard and Bruceville Road for future medical expansion.

And at CHW's Methodist Hospital in south Sacramento, an emergency department expansion is under way, with 22 of 29 added beds expected to be in operation in February.

In Elk Grove, Sutter Health plans to depart from an industry tradition of moving short-term patients from one area of the hospital to another.

Instead, basic procedures, such as X-rays, ultrasound or minor surgeries, would be brought to the patient, said Dan Conwell, principal architect for Sutter Health's facility planning and development.

That can mean a better outcome.

"There have been a lot of tests that show the more patient transfers, the more likely there is some sort of a medical error," Conwell said.

"There's a higher probability of delayed care because if you're going to give a patient an injection, the drug can get delayed. That results in longer hospital stays."

Moving patients and transferring them to another bed can increase the possibility of injury, he said.

Scott Seamons, regional vice president of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, said the community will benefit.

It is "a new way of thinking and providing patient care" that will help make the patient more comfortable, Seamons said in an e-mail.

Conwell said Sutter Health is pursuing so-called universal care units in seismically safe replacement hospitals being proposed in Castro Valley, Santa Rosa and San Francisco.

But he said the Elk Grove proposal has progressed the most.

Sutter Health also intends to use technology for greater efficiency.

In addition to electronic health records, smart cards will help track patients, as well as equipment and supplies for greater efficiency.

And at checkout time, patients will be able to preview what to expect during recuperation by switching on the television.

Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 478-2641.