Hollywood Presbyterian to kick off $200 million expansion
The new emergency department will include an expansion from 20 beds to 26, and the department's physical space will more than double.
Fresh off of its headline-grabbing ransomware attack, the nearly 100-year-old CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles is about to kick off its $200 million expansion and modernization of the facility.
The announcement comes on the heels of an incident in February in which the hospital paid a ransom of about $17,000 to hackers who infiltrated and disabled its computer network. For a time, doctors at the hospital were forced to rely on telephones and fax machines to relay patient information.
Expansion plans were unveiled to medical staff and the administration by Kwang Yul Cha, MD, the founder of CHA Health Systems, which purchased the hospital in 2004. Cha said that the project will "usher in a new era of healthcare in the community," while also fulfilling the state's safety mandate that all hospitals will have to meet by 2020.
[Also: Hollywood Presbyterian pays $17,000 ransom to regain control over systems from hackers]
The initial project will be anchored by a new emergency department; the hospital has chosen to construct an entirely new one rather than retrofit the existing structure. The new ED will include an expansion from 20 beds to 26, and the department's physical space will more than double, to 26,000 square feet from its current 11,000.
A better patient experience is the primary goal of the renovation efforts. Open around the clock, the hospital's emergency department is staffed by a multi-lingual team of physicians, nurses and ancillary staff to make it a culturally sensitive resource for the community.
Phase 1 of the master plan will also include a new 650-spot parking structure for patients, employees and visitors, as well as internal and external beautification of the hospital campus. In addition, the hospital will rebuild and relocate its kitchen and dietary department, which serves patients, visitors and employees.
Hospital CEO Jerry Clute said in a statement that the team is anxious to kick off the enhancements.
Cha anticipates breaking ground on the new parking structure in November and completing the project by November 2017. When that's done, work will begin on the new emergency department, with an anticipated completion date of fall 2019.
Twitter: @JELagasse
