Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Arguably no hospital has garnered more attention for its expansion plan than Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce are just three in a long line of organizations based outside of the Valley to have voiced support for the hospital’s 101-bed South Addition. Why? For years, now, Holy Cross has been in dispute with a group now known as Community Advocates for Responsible Expansion at Providence Holy Cross (CARE) that wants the hospital to conduct an environmental impact report (EIR) before building. That’s not a move that Holy Cross is legally obligated to make, however. In July, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission approved its $146 million expansion sans an EIR, which CARE later appealed and the Los Angeles City Council approved. According to Holy Cross, conducting an EIR would delay its expansion by 18 months, a wait they say is too long, considering that the Sherman Way campus of Northridge Medical Center and Granada Hills Community Hospital have closed, putting more of a strain on its resources. “We’ve had such a large coalition of various different organizations in support of Providence Holy Cross and want this project to begin with the environmental conditions we have in place at this time,” hospital spokesman Dan Boyle said. “We really have a broad array of groups that are supporting us. They’re supporting us, but they’re really supporting the expansion of hospital beds in San Fernando Valley because they understand there’s a need for additional inpatient beds.” In addition to providing more beds, Holy Cross’ proposed South Addition will create an additional 250 full-time jobs and 171 construction jobs, hospital officials estimate. Once complete, the building will include new labor and delivery suites, a gastroenterology lab and a neonatal intensive care unit. The new building will also allow more space in the existing facility for the growth of the hospital’s critical care and surgery units, which will help to reduce overcrowding and long wait times in the emergency department, according to Holy Cross. The hospital is considering the possibility of adding 35 more patient beds to the South Addition, if necessary. Holy Cross estimates that the closing of Northridge Hospital Medical Center’s Sherman Way Campus and the Granada Hills Community Hospital has led to a loss of 446 patient beds in the area. As a result of the lost beds, the medical center is operating at, near or over 100 percent bed capacity every day, according to officials. This, they say, has resulted in patients sometimes being treated in hallways. “It’s not just a North San Fernando Valley issue. It’s an L.A. County area wide issue,” Boyle explained. “There’s been 10 hospital closures in the last four years. Whatever happens with one hospital impacts the entire region here.” While CARE has voiced concerns about how the hospital expansion will affect the immediate environment, the South Addition is slated to be the first “green” hospital building in California. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Grand Building Rating System will certify it if it is built to LEED standards. Doing so will add $500,000 onto the expansion project, according to Holy Cross. At this time, there are just three LEED certified hospital buildings in the nation. “What we’re doing is building an environmentally sound building,” hospital administrator Kerry Carmody told the Business Journal in August. “That is our commitment, and I don’t know why anyone would delay this.” Providence St. Joseph Medical Center When ground was broken on the Roy and Patricia Disney Cancer Center at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Oct. 25, there was none of the tension that has come to linger around the expansion plans of St. Joseph’s sister hospital Holy Cross. Held on a sunny afternoon at the northwest corner of Buena Vista Street and Alameda Avenue in Burbank’s Media District, there was cheerful applause as studio representatives, members of the Disney family and Dr. Raul Mena, who will serve as medical director, addressed a jubilant crowd during the groundbreaking ceremony. The center is part of not-for-profit Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Treating more than 1,600 new cancer patients annually, Providence St. Joseph is the largest provider of cancer care services in the San Fernando Valley, officials say. Moreover, based on data by the National Cancer Data Base, the hospital’s cancer survival rates are among the best in the nation, according to representatives. Roy and Patricia Disney donated $10 million to the center, and community donations will foot the entire cost of the $36 million center, scheduled to open in early 2009. Thus far, studios and others in the entertainment industry have raised millions, according to hospital officials. “On behalf of my family, thank you,” stated Susan Disney Lord to the center’s supporters. She was accompanied by her mother Patricia Disney at the ceremony. “We are thrilled to have been a part of making the vision of world-class cancer care here in our community a reality.” The center is set to be the San Fernando Valley’s largest, most comprehensive cancer center, according to 25-year St. Joseph veteran Mena, now Medical Director of Cancer Services and former Chief of Staff. The 55,000-sq.-foot, four-story center will feature a radiation oncology center, medical oncology offices, a gynecologic oncology clinic, a chemotherapy infusion center and a prostate cancer multidisciplinary program. “As the largest provider of cancer services in the region, the center will offer diagnosis, treatment, professional counseling, access to support groups and educational resources in one healing environment,” Mena stated. And that’s not all. The center will also contain an integrative medicine/wellness program that includes genetic counseling, acupuncture, meditation and massage therapy, nutritional supplementation and a personal appearance center. Lastly, the new cancer center will include a cancer research center involving a series of clinical trials, as well as the John C. & Lowry Hench Library to inform patients about their respective conditions and treatment options. “At the new center, as you walk out of your doctor’s office, you will be able to get a copy of your pathology report and take it to the resource center, where medical librarians will look at your diagnosis and will assist you,” Mena stated. “They will give you a printout of information about the available treatments your doctor recommends, as well as available national recommendations for the treatment of your malignancy. You can do your own research on what the best approach is.” The last time Providence St. Joseph expanded was two years ago when a Northeast tower was built to comply with state-imposed seismic regulations, hospital spokesman Dan Boyle said. While many area hospitals are building to comply with such regulations, the new cancer center is unique in more ways than one, according to Mena. “The Roy and Patricia Disney Cancer Center will be a first in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys: a patient-focused center that treats the body, mind and spirit of each patient,” he said. Mena added that the cancer center will stand out for its patient education services. “Helping cancer patients fully understand the situation will have many benefits,” he said. “Ignorance and fear are the worst enemies a cancer patient can have .And by knowing and understanding, they will begin to regain something that medicine takes away, control over their lives. This is a tool for the entire community, and it’s a very unique service that we’re going to provide.” Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Over the next decade-and-a-half, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia will undergo a major overhaul. At present, the hospital is in the midst of devising its 15-year master plan, to culminate in a 120-bed tower. “The completion of the 15-year plan will assure that this community and this hospital be a full service center of excellence in women’s services, cancer and spine or orthopedic and probably cardiac as well,” said Roger E. Seaver, Henry Mayo President and CEO. “The facilities are critical because of the demand here. It’s quite a period of growth and delivery for the Santa Clarita Valley.” Pending city approval, Henry Mayo will build a helipad, parking structure, medical building and five-story new tower. “We’ve got the plans, and we’ll start the architectural drawings for the hospital building as soon as we know if we’re approved for square feet and height,” said hospital spokeswoman Andie Bogdan. “The parking structure and medical building will be first to be finished. We also have two other medical buildings in that expansion plan, but not so immediate.” According to Seaver, the city is waiting for the hospital to revise its environmental impact report to include final testimony on the effects that the expansion will have on the surrounding community. The hospital plans to redistribute an EIR by early next year. The 15-year master plan is projected to cost $300 million. Additional projects that are not included in the master plan, such as a cath lab and neonatal intensive care unit, will amount to about $75 million. “Right now we’re expanding our imaging services/space to accommodate new services,” Bogdan said. “For example, we’re putting in a dual modality cath lab for vascular and cardiac. This means we’ll be able to provide an emergency cardiac intervention if needed, and we’ve never had that ability before. Also, we’re installing a 64-slice CT in that space , very high end.” In addition, the intensive care unit will expand from 12 to 18 beds. Inpatient operating rooms will expand from four to five. The neonatal intensive care unit will be built in the old ICU space and is expected to be completed in 2010. Lastly, nursing home beds will be converted to hospital beds, increasing the hospital’s capacity to serve acute care patients, according to Bogdan. While Henry Mayo is slated to make several changes in the future, the hospital has already made shifts to better serve patients. In 2006, it built a corridor to connect its two buildings. Also, “We built a new emergency room that opened last December with 18 new beds,” Bogdan said. “And our older emergency room , we’re integrating and upgrading. We’ll end up with 35 full service beds at the end of 18 months.” There will be an entirely new lobby and waiting area as well as a children’s corner. Bogdan said the revamped emergency room will be significantly more comfortable and private. “We crammed a lot of beds into a very small space,” she said. “We’re reorganizing the space for both the patients and for the caregivers to be more efficient and with more privacy for patients.” Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center arguably wins the prize for most drastic makeover. Not only has the hospital building been replaced with one that stands up to the state’s strict seismic guidelines, Kaiser is also working towards opening additional medical offices in Santa Clarita Valley and Mission Hills. No date has been set yet for the grand opening of the new hospital building, as it still is undergoing mandatory inspections, according to hospital spokeswoman Laura Gallardo. She estimates, however, that the new hospital will begin operations in February. Construction began on the building in 2003 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. “We’re very proud,” Gallardo said of the new facility, located just south of the old one. “For us, replacing our current hospital with one that has increased seismic standards and state of the art technology is a considerable investment in this community.” Gallardo said that because the new hospital is double the size of its predecessor, patients will benefit. “It doesn’t mean we have more inpatient rooms,” she explained. “We have fewer inpatient rooms but more private rooms.” The original hospital will still be in use after the new one opens. “The two buildings will be attached by a concourse,” Gallardo said. “We’ll continue to use the first three floors of the original building for outpatient services. The other floors, for right now, they will be unoccupied.” As for the medical offices Kaiser plans to open in Santa Clarita Valley and Mission Hills, they will launch in early 2008 and 2009, respectively, Gallardo said. Both will provide adult primary care and pediatric services. Valley Presbyterian Hospital Via its new cardiac cath lab, expected to open by year’s end, Valley Presbyterian Hospital aims to provide emergency care more efficiently. While there is already such a lab in place at the hospital, the new one will be located near the hospital’s emergency room and operating room facilities. “Basically, it’s a streamline of many kinds of emergency care,” said Norma O’Flaherty, director of marketing and communications for the hospital. The new lab will be the newest of its kind in the Valley, she went on to say. In addition to developing a new cardiac cath lab, the hospital is renovating its operating rooms. “In the past 18 months, we went from four operation rooms to now six, and we’re opening the seventh soon,” O’Flaherty said. To accommodate for the increase in rooms, additional staff will be in place as well. As for structural expansions, Valley Presbyterian has selected Landmark Healthcare Facilities to develop, construct and manage a new medical office building located in a vacant lot on Vanowen Street, according to O’Flaherty. A ground breaking is expected to take place at the site of the new building, which will be four floors and approximately 75, 000 sq. feet early next year. The last time Valley Presbyterian engaged in construction was in 2004, when it opened its new tower. Now the tower will house Barlow Respiratory Hospital, a 30-bed unit for pulmonary rehabilitation care. That’s not the only new way the hospital is using its space. Since July, the services of Vitas Hospice Care, which provides end-of-life care and works with hospital nursing homes and assisted living communities, have been available at the hospital. Also, since Aug. 1, the University Children’s Medical Group has provided pediatric surgery emergency care and coverage at the hospital, according to O’Flaherty. Glendale Adventist Medical Center On Sept. 18, Glendale Adventist Medical Center opened its West Tower. “The West Tower basically significantly expands our emergency department and makes it much more readily available for vehicle traffic,” said Warren Tetz, Glendale Adventist senior vice president of operations. “In addition to that, we have a significant portion of our outpatient services all located in two floors. That’s to help with way finding.” Eventually the West Tower will all be one building, totaling 190,000-sq.-feet. To make room for it, Glendale Adventist will tear down its old surgery suite, built in 1955. Now in its first phase, the project, will take three-and-a-half years to complete. In the initial phase of the project the hospital has been able to make some substantial changes. “Our current emergency department was originally designed for 19 beds. Over the last few years, we’ve been able to expand to 26, and the emergency department we just opened has 36 beds,” Tetz said. Moreover, the hospital has made its radiology area into an outpatient section. “The major drive is to make it convenient for those with scheduled outpatient services, and we have a general diagnostic room, to help keep wait times down,” Tetz explained. The next phase of the project will focus on inpatient radiology treatment. In addition to a designated outpatient radiology area, Glendale Adventist has added a 12-bed surgical intensive care unit, a 24-bed neuro telemetry unit and a 24-bed cardiac intervention telemetry unit. “With all of those, we’ve done something very unique in that every room has a daybed that will allow a family member to sleep in a room with the patient.” To make it as easy as possible for family members to stay together, the surgical intensive care unit features shower facilities, refrigerators and microwaves. Each room also has Internet terminals, donated to the hospital by IBM. The West Tower isn’t the only facility Glendale Adventist will be developing. By the middle of next year, the hospital also expects to open a medical office building with expanded surgery capability. It will be a standalone surgery medical office building and ambulatory surgery center that is a joint venture between the hospital and physicians, investors and surgeons, according to Tetz. To accommodate the patients and staff of the new medical office building and West Tower alike, Glendale Adventist will construct a 499-space parking garage. A roadway will also be built. That’s because, on an 84-year-old site, “you can’t really drive through our campus,” Tetz explained. West Hills Hospital and Medical Center West Hills Hospital and Medical Center is in the process of developing a new facility that will feature an expanded emergency room, critical care unit and outpatient facility. “It will have advanced equipment and specialized treatment areas,” according to Jill Dolan, hospital director of community and physician relations. The building will be 47,000-sq. feet and two stories high. It will be positioned on the West Side of the hospital, next to the existing Emergency Department on the first floor and existing Radiology Department on the second floor. On the first level will be a 24-bed emergency department. “It will double the size of the emergency room at a time where emergency rooms at hospitals are closing around the Valley and in Los Angeles County,” Dolan said. “That’s why this is becoming more critical.” The building’s critical care unit and intensive care unit beds will more than double , from 16 to 34. Overall, Dolan believes that the new facility will offer patients a more streamlined experience. The building is expected to be completed by 2009, later than it was originally planned to finish. “We were set to break ground this year but due to rising construction costs, it was delayed,” Dolan explained.
