(April 9, 2006) Boyle Heights - More than 1000 members of the community, along with Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and 14th District Councilman José Huizar, gathered to celebrate the grand opening of White Memorial Medical Center's specialty care tower.
"The almost 200 million commitment White Memorial has made in this new building is a tribute of its dedication to this community. This building holds a very special place, not only in this city, but in our
 Photo from left to right: The official ribbon cutting was conducted by David Lizárraga, TELACU CEO and Chairman of White Memorial's Capital Campaign; Robert G. Carmen, Adventist Health Executive VP; Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard; Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Beth Zachary, White Memorial Medical Center President and CEO; Councilman José Huizar; and Consul General Mexico, Ruben Beltrán. |
"Anyone who has been in this hospital can attest to the great care this hospital gives to our community. I am proud to be a part of this celebration today," said Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who represents Boyle Heights in Congress and who worked from her seat on the Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives to secure $1.5 million in federal funds for the construction of the new specialty care tower.
As a 92-year member and longtime leader of this historic community, White Memorial has a truly unique relationship with its surrounding community residents. This event was a gift to the community from White Memorial for its years of support and for providing input into the design of the new building.
As a "safety net" hospital, it reaches significantly beyond medical services. It's the community's largest employer and one of the only major companies remaining after decades of corporate departure of grassroots efforts in the city. The hospital is a major engine for both healthcare and social service outreach for its service area.
An official ribbon-cutting ceremony, in addition to food, entertainment and tours of the facility, highlighted the day's activities.
The new specialty care tower is a 348,000 square foot, eight-story building that was designed to optimize healing and comfort. It features 167 beds, a state of the art Emergency Department, the Oscar de la Hoya Labor and Delivery Center, and a Healing Garden. All patient rooms have windows with views of the Los Angeles skyline or the San Gabriel Mountains, sitting areas for visitors, which convert into a bed for family members who wish to spend the night. The new tower also offers easier access for patient services, as registration, laboratory, imaging and surgical services are now centrally located on the first floor.
Also in the new multimillion-dollar facility is the new Cardiovascular Definitive Observation Unit (DOU), a key component of WMMC's Heart and Vascular Care Unit. This Cardiovascular DOU houses 24 telemetry-monitored beds (including 20 single-bed rooms and four two-bed rooms), plus a centralized post-operative cardiac monitoring station. These features enable staff to closely watch each patient's status and to provide more timely updates to the families of patients in our care.
The grand opening celebration included a performance by Ceci De La Hoya and presentation of awards to White Memorial's art contest winners by Councilman Huizar and Ruben Beltrán, consul general of Mexico. The official ribbon cutting was conducted by David Lizárraga, TELACU CEO and Chairman of White Memorial's Capital Campaign, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, Mayor Villaraigosa, Councilman Huizar, Consul General Beltrán, Beth Zachary, White Memorial President and CEO, Robert G. Carmen, Adventist Health Executive VP, and nurses Johanna Hernandez and Yesenia Saldana.
Founded in 1913, White Memorial Medical Center is a full-service 350-bed acute care teaching facility located just east of downtown Los Angeles. With a full range of services that include advanced open-heart surgery, orthopedic surgery, cancer services and neonatal intensive care, White Memorial is well recognized for medical excellence and its mission of compassionate care. White Memorial has won three Eureka Awards for Performance Excellence from the California Council on Excellence.
Officials from Bank of America were also at the grand opening event. The South entrance to the Speciality Care Tower (ER entrance) bears Bank of America's name. White Memorial Medical Center's campaign towards expansion of job training and recruitment recently received a $1 million boost by Bank of America. The grant aims to increase the number of employees representative of the ethnic, language and cultural characteristics of the hospital's population.
"We are pleased to partner with White Memorial Medical Center who shares our vision and is working to ensure vibrant and growing neighborhoods and communities across Los Angeles," said Leticia Aguilar, Los Angeles Market President for Bank of America. "Bank of America is committed to the economic strength and stability of the communities in which the company does business. Our charitable investments support programs and initiatives that foster local neighborhood excellence."
With the opening of its new state-of-the-art specialty care tower on April 26, 2006, White Memorial Medical Center (WMMC), one of Los Angeles' leading teaching hospitals, will be the only hospital in Los Angeles County utilizing the pioneering Planetree model as the basis for its patient and family care. Moreover, it will be just one of four settings in the Southern California area to incorporate the unique concept for healing into its overall patient care.
"Until now, White Memorial has been referred to as one of Los Angeles' best-kept secrets. It's a jewel nobody outside the community knows about," people have told us. But with this brand new facility and the services within it, we have the opportunity to become known throughout the Los Angeles Downtown area as never before," said Beth Zachary, President and CEO White Memorial Medical Center.
"White Memorial has been a gift to my family, and a gift to the community I grew up in. Its taken care of my family, and its my hospital. I am fortunate to be able to contribute to the hospitals future with the Oscar De La Hoya Labor & Delivery Center and the Oscar De La Hoya Neonatal Intensive Care Unit," said Oscar De La Hoya.