Verdugo Hills Hospital joins the USC family

Len LaBella (left), CEO of Verdugo Hills Hospital and Tom Jackiewicz, CEO of USC Health, celebrate USC Verdugo Hills Hospital’s debut as the newest member of the Keck Medicine of USC family. They joined hospital employees at a July 24 celebration, featuring the USC Trojan Marching Band, a barbecue luncheon and decorations in cardinal and gold. Photo/Steve Cohn Len LaBella (left), CEO of Verdugo Hills Hospital and Tom Jackiewicz, CEO of USC Health, celebrate USC Verdugo Hills Hospital’s debut as the newest member of the Keck Medicine of USC family. They joined hospital employees at a July 24 celebration, featuring the USC Trojan Marching Band, a barbecue luncheon and decorations in cardinal and gold.
Photo/Steve Cohn

Cardinal and gold colors swept through the Foothill communities of Los Angeles in mid-July as the University of Southern California debuted its newest member of the Keck Medicine of USC family, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.

A kick-off celebration luncheon was held for employees under a tent on the grounds of the hospital, where employees were greeted by Tom Jackiewicz, CEO of USC Health, and Len LaBella, CEO of Verdugo Hills Hospital.

Amid red and yellow balloons and festooned tables, the newest members of the Trojan family took time out to enjoy a barbecue feast and a visit by the Trojan Marching Band.

“This is a wonderful change,” said nurse Maral Atashian of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital’s Med-Surg Unit. “The future looks great for us!”

The acquisition of this Foothill communities’ hospital, which boasts a 40-year legacy of delivering health care to residents in the area, was part of a larger strategy to address the challenges of a changing health care environment. Keck Medicine of USC offers the size and resources, as well as the innovation to improve care and reduce costs, needed by community hospitals to remain viable and competitive.

The addition of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital expands and improves Keck Medicine of USC’s ability to deliver community-based services. Read More »

July 25th, 2013|Announcements|

Keck Medical Center implements new EMR system

By Josh Grossberg

With hands-on training of a new electronic medical record system well underway, Keck Medical Center of USC is a step closer to eliminating most paperwork, as well as improving patient experience.

Several years in the works, KeckCare is now being implemented at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital. Read More »

June 21st, 2013|Announcements|

Gift of $90,000 makes the little things possible

By Amy E. Hamaker

The little things are what the Office of Patient and Family Experience at the Keck Medical Center of USC is all about.

The Patient Experience team welcomes and visits every patient within 24 hours of admission. During these visits, the staff answers any questions the patients or family members may have, checks on issues like staff responsiveness and room cleanliness, and makes sure that patients and their families feel cared for at USC’s hospitals. These initial connections help foster communication and trust between patients, their families and their medical care teams. Read More »

June 21st, 2013|Announcements|

Keck Medical Center offers affordable lung cancer screenings

Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of breast, prostate and colon cancers combined because most patients are diagnosed after the cancer has already become advanced. The Multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Program at the Keck Medical Center of USC is fighting to change that, which is why it is offering low-dose CT (LDCT) scans of the chest for lung cancer screening at a reduced cost of $99. Read More »

June 21st, 2013|Announcements|

ETC reopens after remodel, expansion

By Josh Grossberg

When the Evaluation and Treatment Clinic (ETC) opened at Keck Hospital of USC in 2009, it proved to be so successful that the need for expansion soon became apparent.

Nearly four years later, the newly remodeled—and much larger—clinic opened for patient care on April 23.

While the clinic formerly had to ‘make do’ with two small examination rooms, it now boasts five, including a larger room that can better accommodate bariatric patients. The clinic has nearly doubled in size from 562 to 1,028 square feet. Read More »

May 10th, 2013|Announcements|