Providence Holy Cross, nearing its maximum occupancy levels, will begin construction on a new, $116 million patient care building in the summer of 2007. The four-story, 101-bed building will make Holy Cross the second largest acute care hospital in the San Fernando Valley. The new building was approved by the Providence Health System Board of Directors and will grow the facility from 254 beds to a hospital with 355 beds. The building would be scheduled to open in 2010. “While other hospitals are closing, we are dedicated to expanding our medical center to meet the growing health care needs in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys,” said Providence Holy Cross Administrator Kerry Carmody. “We are currently one of the busiest medical centers in Los Angeles County, running at above 90 percent occupancy.” The closures of nearby Granada Hills Hospital in 2003 and Northridge Hospital Sherman Way in 2004 have put a strain on Holy Cross, and a growing population in North Los Angeles County is adding to the load. Admissions at the hospital have risen 60 percent over nine years, from 8,623 admissions in 1996 to 13,752 admissions in 2004. Providence Holy Cross is also in the middle of a $7.8 million expansion of its emergency department and is scheduled to open at three-story, 83,000 square foot health center this July in Valencia.
