Ike Mmeje, MHSA, CEO and president of USC Arcadia Hospital (USC-AH), hosted a town hall for employees on April 17, highlighting the hospital’s priorities and successes.

Mmeje opened the town hall with an anecdote about a patient, pregnant with twins, who was scheduled for a C-section due to placenta previa, a condition in which the placenta covers the opening of the cervix. When the patient experienced hemorrhaging during the surgical procedure, which is a risk with placenta previa, the physicians, with support from the Cath Lab and Interventional Radiology teams, were able to stabilize her, avoid a hysterectomy and have her home without any further complications within four days of giving birth.

“This story is a great demonstration of excellent care and teamwork across the hospital,” Mmeje said.

Mmeje went on to report that the hospital has many other reasons to be proud. The quality levels and profitability of USC-AH are up, and the hospital has experienced significant gains in staff retention and recruitment this fiscal year. The hospital has reduced workforce turnover for all staff by almost 11%, reduced RN turnover by over 16% and increased recruitment by more than 9%.

He attributes these accomplishments to many recent initiatives the hospital has implemented to create an exceptional workplace culture, including: investment in staff wages and benefits; leadership rounding to create a more positive employee and patient experience; new “Just Culture and Professionalism” programs; multidisciplinary quality improvement work groups; and a variety of employee engagement events and activities.

Mmeje also used the meeting to discuss the hospital’s vision of transforming healthcare delivery through a culture of safety and providing an exceptional patient experience. He took the opportunity to stress the six values of the hospital, which most of the crowd appeared to know by heart: integrity, respect, accountability, innovation, safety and excellence, also known as IRAISE.

Compassionate and quality care go hand in hand, he said, quoting the writer Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

The spring town hall was the most recent in a series developed to keep hospital staff informed and inspired.

2025 marks the third year since USC-AH became part of Keck Medicine of USC and Mmeje’s two-year anniversary leading the hospital. Over the last few years, the hospital has received many honors, including designations as both a heart attack and a stroke receiving center by Los Angeles County and recognition from the American College of Surgeons as a comprehensive community cancer center.

Additionally, USC-AH recently became home to a newly enhanced inpatient acute rehabilitation unit serving the entire Keck Medicine health system. Acute rehabilitation services help patients regain their mobility, strength, speech skills and overall independence after a major injury, illness or surgery, so patients can get back to their normal lives as soon as possible.

— Alison Rainey