Providence Holy Cross Receives Economic Engine Award

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center received the first Economic Engine Award from the Valley Economic Alliance for its expansion project that created construction and heath care jobs. The Alliance will present the awards quarterly to a company or business making an effort to improve its financial performance and bringing jobs to the San Fernando Valley. The Mission Hills healthcare facility serves the north San Fernando and Santa Clarita valley areas. The 142-bed expansion to be completed by the end of 2010 is expected to provide work for up to 200 construction workers and result in the hiring of 350 health care workers. “It is great to be expanding especially in this economy and to meet the needs of the community,” said Robert Hacker, regional director of facility and construction services. Providence Holy Cross was one of 10 companies nominated for the award. That number was then whittled down to three finalists with a committee of 15 business owners, managers, and human resources professionals. Nominees remain eligible to be chosen as a winner for one year. Choosing between the three finalists was very close, said Alliance President and CEO Bruce Ackerman. The Airtel Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Van Nuys and Time Warner Cable were the other finalists. “The deciding factor, based on the conversations I heard, was the fact that they chose to fight for it,” Ackerman said. “It is a huge expansion and something we need we are so on that edge of (not having enough beds) when it comes to hospitals.” The project was not without controversy. A neighborhood group went to court to stop construction under the argument that an environmental impact report was needed due to fears that the project would create parking and traffic problems. A Superior Court judge ordered work stopped in October 2008 after determining that the process the City Council used in 2007 to approve the project was incorrect, necessitating another vote. The second vote was taken in March and work resumed on the expansion in June but since construction had been four months ahead of schedule the delay did not put it behind schedule, said a hospital spokeswoman. Providence Health & Services, owner and operators of Holy Cross, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, and Providence Tarzana Medical Center also submitted an application but it never made it to the selection committee. Providence sought the award based on the Holy Cross expansion, the new Comprehensive Cancer Center under construction and slated for completion in February at St. Joseph Medical Center, and its purchase of the Tarzana facility that saved the jobs of those employed there. “They are definitely a worthy candidate,” Ackerman said of Providence. The criteria used to pick the finalists and the winner was made broad enough so that it would include companies that have a few employees to those with 1,000 workers, Ackerman said. “It does not have to be a big business or operators,” Ackerman added. “It could be a small shop that hired an extra person.” The other nominees were T. Viole Construction Company Inc., Robert Half International, water feature manufacturer WET Design in Sun Valley, The Method Fest, the annual film festival in Calabasas, Westfield Group, Wells Fargo Community Bank of the San Fernando Valley, and Gelb Group A Family Of Companies.