Largest Public Hospital West of Texas Promotes Expansion of Innovative ‘Safer at Home’ Program to Treat as Many Patients as Possible Across a Wide Range of Health Needs, Charting the Future of Health

LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, Mayor Karen Bass, and Special Guests Join Medical Center Leadership to Celebrate the Facility’s Past, Present, and Future

LOS ANGELES, May 3, 2023 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Today, Los Angeles County Medical Center (LAC+USC) leadership and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis will be joined by Mayor Karen Bass to announce that the County’s largest health care facility will now be known as Los Angeles General Medical Center (LA General). Members of LA General leadership and staff will gather alongside community supporters to unveil the new name while celebrating the facility’s history and looking ahead to its future.

The unveiling of a new name for the historic facility marks an extraordinary milestone for the entire community of Los Angeles. Just a few miles east of Downtown Los Angeles in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, the medical center dates to 1878 and serves thousands of residents across Los Angeles County. The facility’s new name and brand reflect an active and intentional commitment to strengthen the trust between the medical center and the community of Los Angeles and to continue to expand its role as a partner in building healthy, full, and long lives within the communities it serves.

Currently, Los Angeles General Medical Center provides world-class care across a broad range of specialties, in addition to providing trauma care and primary care. Its modern facilities include a Level-One trauma center, a training site for the U.S. Navy, and it is one of the nation’s premier teaching hospitals. The medical center campus is also home to a nonprofit organization, The Wellness Center, which provides a range of programs for community residents.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility pioneered its award-winning ‘Safer at Home’ initiative, providing COVID-infected Angelenos with resources to fully and safely recover at home. This was a critical program for the most populous county in the nation to meet the ever-increasing need for care during the pandemic. LA General Medical Center’s COVID-19 Safer at Home program won the prestigious Gage Award from America’s Essential Hospitals for healthcare innovation; the program was also was adopted by the World Health Organization during the oxygen crisis in India in 2021. The program has successfully cared for more than 4,000 COVID-19 patients at home, on oxygen, with excellent patient outcomes and high patient satisfaction. It was so successful that it was expanded beyond COVID-19 in 2022 for patients with other selected diagnoses.

Now, this program is officially expanding to serve patients with a wide array of health needs, including patients with skin or bone infections, kidney infections, bacterial pneumonia, exacerbations of COPD or asthma, and Congestive Heart Failure. Patients with these and other conditions who would have otherwise been hospitalized and away from their families are now being sent home with concierge-level, protocolized care, as well as pulse oximeters and other medical equipment to allow remote monitoring of their conditions. Follow-up includes daily calls, remote vital sign monitoring, and focused return visits. In the first eight months, 556 patients with 37 different diagnoses have been cared for at home instead of the hospital, saving nearly 1,742 bed-days, enough to admit 316 other patients.

Through this first-of-its-kind program, LA General is providing world-class care to patients who need it most, as well as resources that directly address factors impacting access to care. In addition to cutting-edge medical technology, patients are often sent home with cell phones to bridge the digital divide so they can easily connect with their care team. LA General is charting the future of what health care looks like, providing world-class care to all regardless of income or background.

Los Angeles General Medical Center will continue its affiliation with Keck School of Medicine of USC for graduate medical education, training interns and residents who are the county’s next generation of physicians.

The medical center’s new name is followed by its new motto, “Exceptional Care. Healthy Communities.” The new motto summarizes the medical center’s mission to build healthy communities by being a trusted provider of excellent, whole-person care to all.

Topline Facts about LA General:

• As a Level One Trauma Center, we run the busiest emergency department and trauma center in the largest county in the US.
• We are one of the nation’s premier teaching hospitals, training scores of doctors now practicing throughout the country. The hospital will continue its affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine of USC for medical training.
• We are home to:
• One of only three Burn Center units in LA.
• A training site for the U.S. Navy.
• The Rand Schrader HIV/AIDS Clinic, one of the oldest and largest HIV clinics in the country.

“After months of consulting and collaborating with community members, staff, and patients, we are officially now Los Angeles General Medical Center. We are incredibly proud to unveil our new name and brand, bringing us one more step into our future, while recognizing our past,” said Jorge Orozco, CEO of Los Angeles General Medical Center. “With this announcement, we’re celebrating a new chapter for the medical center, which includes the expansion of our award-winning ‘Safer at Home’ program designed to help keep vital bed availability at LA County’s flagship hospital. The new name and new brand are all part of what it means to be the flagship public medical center in the nation’s largest county. We are proud to be LA General Medical Center.”

“Los Angeles General Medical Center is Los Angeles County’s flagship hospital, and to that end, I am thrilled to see our community take ownership of its new name and brand,” said LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis of the First District. “For years, I have heard from residents and stakeholders that they wanted to see a name that speaks to the campus’ history, resonates with our residents, and can be easily understood in Spanish and other languages. As the campus moves into the next step of expanding its world-class care by creating supportive housing and a comprehensive continuum of care, Los Angeles General Medical Center will recognize our storied past while also launching us into a very bright future.”

“As someone who used to work in this medical center, I am so proud to join community members, nurses, staff, and physicians to unveil the new name of this extraordinary facility, Los Angeles General Medical Center,” said Mayor Karen Bass, formerly a Physician Assistant at the medical center. “This announcement captures the medical center’s past, while emphasizing its ongoing commitment to providing exceptional care and building healthy communities. I’ve seen it since I was a Physician Assistant here, and I am so proud to see that the focus on whole-person care is the priority for every member of the LA General community. Today, we are all Los Angeles General!”

“We are proud to unveil the new name of this extraordinary medical facility, now known as LA General Medical Center, which has been serving Angelenos for 145 years,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS). “LA General is a premier teaching hospital, training nearly 1% of all resident physicians in the US. Our medical center treats patients regardless of income or background and offers preventive and primary care services that are among the best in the nation. With state-of-the-art facilities, top-notch specialties, renowned emergency and trauma services, and a commitment to Equity Diversity Inclusion and Anti-Racism, LA General is a beacon of hope for our community. We are proud to take this bold step into the future as we celebrate this milestone.”

“Estoy muy emocionada y orgullosa de ser parte del anuncio del nuevo nombre para el centro médico. Hoy, somos Los Ángeles General,” dijo Juana Mena, paciente de Los Ángeles General Centro Médico por más de 20 años. “Vivo a una distancia caminable del centro médico, y estoy tan feliz de ver que estamos volviendo a la identidad que conocemos y amamos.  Este es un lugar para la comunidad, donde te dan la bienvenida sin importar quién seas o lo que necesites. ¡Y sí, si sólo hablan español o cualquier otro idioma, son bienvenidos! El centro médico tiene un equipo de enfermeras, doctores, y personal quienes hablan varias lenguas, y tienen servicios de interpretación para que los pacientes podamos entender todos los aspectos de nuestros tratamientos. Y después de tratamientos, te conectan con el Wellness Center, para saber de programas de bienestar y salud mental todo en un mismo lugar.  Si necesitas atención, no dudes en ir a Los Ángeles General Centro Médico.”

“I am thrilled and proud to be here as the hospital announces its new name. Today, we are Los Angeles General,” said Juana Mena, a patient at Los Angeles General Medical Center for over 20 years. “I live within walking distance of the medical center, and I’m so happy to see that we’re returning to the identity that we know and love. This is a place for the community, where you are welcome no matter who you are or what you need. And yes, if you only speak Spanish or any other language, you will receive help in your language! LA General Medical Center has medical staff that speak more than one language; they also have interpretation services to make sure we all understand every aspect of our care and treatment. After treatments, they connect you with the Wellness Center to find programs that promote healing, wellbeing and mental health all in one place. If you need care, don’t hesitate – go to Los Angeles General Medical Center.”

Elements of the new name and brand include:

• New Name Template: As a prominent visual representation of the medical center, the new name template was designed to represent progress and the facility’s focus on the future.
• New Font & Brand Colors: The medical center’s brand now features shades of blue, soft white, and salmon. The vibrant, fresh colors underscore the community’s desire for a modern, forward-looking medical center.
• New Motto: Exceptional Care. Healthy Communities.
• Flexibility For Multiple Languages: Given the rich cultural and ethnic diversity that defines the County of Los Angeles, it was also important to ensure that the new brand is accessible across different languages.
• In Spanish, the facility will be known as Los Ángeles General Centro Médico.
• New Motto (Spanish): Cuidado Excepcional. Bienestar Comunitario.

About Los Angeles General Medical Center (LA General):

Los Angeles General Medical Center (LA General) is an over 600-bed, Level One Trauma Center and an academic teaching hospital run by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS).  Through affiliation with Keck School of Medicine of USC, LA General is one of the premier training sites for intern and resident physicians completing their Graduate Medical Education. LA General operates special units that serve patients across the Southern California region, including a Burn Center, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and Psychiatric and Pediatric Emergency Rooms. LA General offers outpatient services to victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder 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.

Contact: 
[email protected]

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SOURCE Los Angeles General Medical Center