Los Angeles County Medical Center (LAC+USC) will now be known as Los Angeles General Medical Center (LA General), hospital and city leaders announced today.
The 600-bed hospital in Boyle Heights is a Level 1 trauma center and an academic teaching hospital run by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
A longtime affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine of USC will continue. LA General will also remain a training site for the U.S. Navy, and no changes will be made to hospital services.
“Our commitment to the hospital remains the same,” said Steven D. Shapiro, MD, senior vice president for health affairs at USC, whose role includes overseeing the Keck School. “USC will continue to serve Los Angeles County’s patients by providing world-class physicians and training in our joint medical programs.”
The name change, approved Tuesday by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, was guided by community input and a desire to reflect offerings beyond emergency medicine and trauma care, according to a press release issued by the hospital.
To further mark its evolution, LA General will incorporate a new motto (“Exceptional care. Healthy communities.”) and brand colors. It will also offer Spanish-language branding to underscore a commitment of inclusive care for diverse patient populations.
The hospital’s origins date back to 1878 when the county opened a 100-bed facility on Mission Road for indigent patients (a partnership with USC’s medical school began in 1885).
A 1-million-square-foot building opened in 1933; a new one opened in 2008 following damage to the prior structure after a 1994 earthquake.
LA General, one of the busiest emergency departments in the United States, operates special units that include a burn center, a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, psychiatric and pediatric emergency rooms, and it supplies outpatient services to victims of abuse and to children in foster care.
The medical center campus is also home to a nonprofit organization, the Wellness Center, which provides a range of programs for community residents.
— Kevin Joy