Ronald McDonald was but one of the VIPs on hand early Tuesday afternoon when Miller Children’s Hospital celebrated the opening of its newly built 124,000-square-foot in-patient pavilion. The ongoing theme for the expansion project has been “The Hero’s Journey,” and the day’s festivities included a parade of those instrumental in getting the facility “off the ground,” as well as police officers and firefighters.
The four-story building will house a state-of-the-art pediatric imaging center and the region’s only pediatric surgery center. The facility adds 24 new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds, bringing the total to 93. An additional 24 NICU beds will be built later, with the help of Proposition 3 funds and philanthropic support, which will make the total 117 and Miller’s NICU among the largest of its kind in California.
Ronald was there in honor of the new Ronald McDonald House that will be coming to the campus of Miller and Long Beach Memorial. The House will provide low-cost temporary housing for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at Miller and other nearby medical facilities.
Deejays Mark and Kristen of radio station KOST hosted the event, and other guests of honor in attendance were former Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill and current Vice Mayor Val Lerch.
Photo by Cory Bilicko
