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Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024

Richard & Peter Grossman

At a time of enormous change and uncertainty for the health care industry, the San Fernando Valley region is home to many who are embracing the challenges boldly with new ideas and fresh vision. The 10 innovators profiled in the following pages are emblematic of the important work performed by health care workers every day. They are working to improve care and lower costs — and answer the urgent need for a better health care system. Dr. Peter H. Grossman recalls how as a young boy, he followed his father, Dr. A. Richard Grossman, as he visited his burn patients on weekend mornings. Seeing burn victims — even in photographs — is painful. Seeing them up close must have been dreadful. But that’s not what the younger Grossman remembers. “What I recognized was how patients responded to my father — the level of respect and caring and appreciation they had for him and that has stuck with me,” Dr. Peter Grossman said. “And I remember saying, ‘I’d like to have that when I grow up.’” More than 30 years later, this father and son team is at the helm of The Grossman Burn Centers. Not only do they have the appreciation of thousands of patients they’ve helped, but they now are building something new together. They are taking the business model that has made the Grossman Burn Centers viable and profitable — and expanding it nationally. There are now five Grossman Burn Centers across the nation, including the brand new flagship facility that the West Hills Hospital & Medical Center built for the duo. The West Hills facility can accommodate up to 39 patients. In recent years, the Grossmans have opened centers at Western Medical Center — Santa Anna, San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, La., and St. Luke’s Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz., which opened in October. Discussions are ongoing with hospitals in Texas and Missouri. When Dr. Peter Grossman first began approaching hospitals about the idea of creating a burn center at their facility, most turned him down flat. Hospitals, many of which were already squeezed by declining reimbursements, feared that a burn center would be a financial drain. Historically speaking, they would have been correct. Burn centers — typically housed at academic medical centers or, as is the case with Los Angeles, the county hospital — often are money drains for hospitals. But in recent years, the Grossmans have demonstrated that such centers can deliver excellent care, results and profits. As a private institution, they have built relationships with case managers who represent insured clients (though they will treat everyone). They have learned how to handle workmen’s compensation claims, and they are more persistent than public institutions in following up on paperwork to get paid. Ready access to operating rooms and anesthesiologists allow the Grossmans to be more aggressive in how they treat burns. Putting patients to sleep most of the time, they do a debridement or cleansing and scrubbing of the skin. The reconstructive surgery they do as plastic surgeons also has helped offset the cost. “We have been able to show them that not only can we produce excellent outcomes for patients, but we can do it in a way that is profitable for the hospitals,” said Dr. Peter Grossman. In recent months, hospitals have been reaching out and inviting the Grossmans to come for a visit, rather than the other way around. Dr. Richard Grossman’s reputation is a significant asset in selling the model. It was he who convinced Cook County Hospital back in the late 1950s to dedicate at first two beds, and then many more, to burn victims after a historic fire destroyed a parochial school in Chicago, killing 95 children and nuns. He still remembers the day. “It was a scene that will never leave your mind. It will never leave your senses. I could not tell if it was a boy or a girl or a nun.” When he arrived in California as a young plastic surgeon, he convinced Sherman Oaks Hospital to give him two burn beds. That number grew to 10, then 15 and eventually 30 beds as the center gained respect for its results and philosophical approach to treating burn victims. It was not just about healing the physical scars, but the emotional ones, as well. Companies with a high risk of fire — from Southern California Edison, to the Department of Water and Power to the Los Angeles Fire Department — all refer cases to Grossman. That esteemed reputation is not lost on other hospitals who invite the Grossmans for a prospective visit. On a recent trip presenting to hospital officials in Lafayette, La., a nun remembered the Chicago fire. Within days, the Grossmans had a deal. The elder Dr. Grossman, who these days is happy to stay home while his son travels to expand the business, says it’s gratifying to see the work he cared so much about pass to the next generation and to cities beyond California. “He’s a good kid,” Dr. Richard Grossman said of his son. “Whatever my boy wants is fine. I trust him.”

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