Tarzana Reimagined is the $644 million upgrade at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center slated for completion in 2023.
Started in 2017, the project is a joint venture between Providence Health & Services and Cedars-Sinai with 49 percent of the project’s bill funded by Cedars-Sinai and the remainder by Providence, according to the joint venture agreement.
Construction was initiated to widen care accessibility for residents as well as meet seismic requirements from the state. Parts of the medical center have stayed operational for patient care despite the extensive construction that has been completed.
“Our priority through all the construction was to maintain our service to the community, and not just services, (but the) quality patient care the community expects from Providence Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,” Nicholas Lymberopoulos, the medical center’s chief executive, wrote in an email to the business journal. “The caregivers, physicians and the supportive community have made this possible.”
The medical center is located between Burbank Boulevard and Clark Street next to the 101 freeway.
Construction on a new main lobby and patient tower are now on track for January 2023 completion, according to Lymberopoulos.
Leadership transition
Lymberopoulos became chief executive midway through the project. He took the title in early 2021 after previously serving as chief operating officer for four years. He specializes in finance and operations and has acquired more than 28 years of experience in health care.
The new lobby was anticipated for June 2022 when the Business Journal spoke to Lymberopoulos for a prior story in September 2021. The patient tower topped out in November 2020 and will feature a first floor with a 32-bed emergency room.
Inside the medical center, upgrades will come in the form of state-of-the-art equipment in cardiology. The opening of five new operating rooms, including a hybrid operating room that combines imaging technology and a traditional OR, is slated for 2025 completion.
The medical center is currently stroke certified and intends to become a comprehensive stroke center by 2025.
In 2021, the medical center achieved several milestones.
The seismic retrofitting of the medical center was completed in July while its water and power plant was completed at some point in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Lymberopoulos.
A traffic light, crosswalk and turn lane were also implemented on Burbank Boulevard to allow for better traffic flow and safer passage for those entering the medical center’s campus. Lymberopoulos said in a previous interview with the Business Journal that these changes were made because the street’s prior lane format was not all that safe for vehicles exiting the campus.
The project is being completed by 400 on-site construction workers. Crews have recorded one minor safety incident during the project.
Construction on the medical center has not run into any obstacles since September 2021, according to Lymberopoulos.
He previously told the Business Journal that a return on investment for the hospital would be providing care in the San Fernando Valley and West San Fernando Valley and providing comfort to locals knowing that they do not have to travel outside the Valley to receive care.