By Nick Diamantides, Staff Writer
Miller Children’s Hospital celebrated a milestone in the construction of its new inpatient pavilion last Friday. The “topping off” ceremony, attended by about 100 people, marked the installation of one of the last steel girders on the building’s frame. Long Beach Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal and State Senator Jenny Oropeza joined a group of hospital officials and patient representatives with short speeches to mark the occasion.
“Without the community’s participation, we could not make this happen,” said Mel Marks, M.D., Miller Children’s Hospital chief administrative officer. “The evolution of a children’s hospital is not measured in days or years, but in decades.” He added that the true measure of a children’s hospital is not its physical size, but its ability to bring healing to its young patients while helping them to reach their maximum potential.
“Long Beach can hold its head up high for doing well,” he said, explaining that, with the support of the community, the hospital has done a great job of accomplishing those two goals.
Libby Hoy, whose three sons–Stephen, Nick and Jack–are Miller outpatients, thanked the hospital staff for “giving them the power to believe that their disease should not limit them.” She noted that her sons, who she called “my three heroes,” have not only learned to live with their disease, but have enthusiastically participated in school sports, done very well in their studies and have positive attitudes toward any challenges that come their way.
Miller Children’s Hospital was established at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center at 2801 Atlantic Avenur in 1970 in recognition that as hospital patients, children often have very different needs than adults. The 308-bed not-for-profit hospital cares for children of all ages from newborns to young adults, as well as expectant mothers.
Several years ago, community leaders, patients and their families, doctors and staff began planning an expansion of the hospital–including the construction of new buildings as well as the renovation of existing space to create a comprehensive, integrated facility. The recent renovation added 27 beds to the hospital.
The entire project is expected to cost $151 million, about $74 million of which will come from Prop 61, the Children’s Hospital Bond Act passed by California voters in November 2004. The remainder of the funding is coming from the donations of individuals and philanthropic groups as well as revenues collected from current hospital operations.
The new four-story (one level below, three levels above ground) 124,000-square-foot addition will sit adjacent to the hospital’s current Miller West Wing at Memorial Medical Center. When complete, the new inpatient pavilion will include state-of-the-art pediatric imaging, the region’s only pediatric surgery center, and additional neonatal intensive care unit beds for babies with special needs, including those born prematurely. The pavilion will also house a family resource center.
The new facility was designed by TAYLOR, a Newport Beach-based architectural firm. Turner Construction Company, based in Los Angeles, is building it. The pavilion’s groundbreaking ceremony took place in September 2006.
“We expect that the building will be structurally complete by December 2008,” said Kevin Kimbrough, the hospital’s communications manager. “Licensing and the start of use of the various parts of the new building will take place in phases during early 2009.”
