Looking from the Ventura Freeway, one can get a dramatic view of the Valley’s latest landmark, Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center’s new five-story, sleek-lined Friese Family Tower, a symbol of the 50-year-old hospital’s transformation as a premier health care center.
Friends, family and supporters get a first look at the family tower’s newly expanded emergency department. The tour was part of the Aug. 26 pre-opening celebration.
For those involved in the project, the most exciting event before opening day was the Aug. 26 Friends & Family Celebration, which brought together key leadership, board members, elected officials, donors, volunteers, community partners and their guests to take a look at the new patient tower and surrounding garden.
“Every time someone walks in for the first time, they’re just blown away,” says Matthew Rinnert, chief philanthropy officer of the Providence Tarzana Foundation. “It’s a brand-new, state-of-the-art building that combines modern technology and design with personalized, compassionate care.”
Featuring spacious, all-private rooms and the latest in sustainable, energy-efficient design, the tower includes an updated and expanded emergency department, cutting-edge technology upgrades, a unique healing garden and local art. It expands the services for patients and provides new opportunities to enhance patient and family experiences.
The Friends & Family Celebration allowed attendees to gather for an exciting commemoration with a formal program and blessing, live music, food stations from local L.A. restaurants, special gifts and tours of the new tower.
Providence Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Executive Leadership Team: Nick Lymberopoulos, chief executive; Shannon Novotne, communications director; Sharon Gross, executive director of construction; Jeanne Sulka, director of business development; Deb Carver, RN, chief nursing officer; Jessica Trimble, chief financial officer; Anne Lurch, chief human resources officer; and Matthew Rinnert, chief philanthropy officer.
“Everyone who tours the new tower is just amazed—the community, donors, staff. It’s seeing the future of health care,” says Nick Lymberopoulos, chief executive of Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center.
With the tower’s strategic location next to the 101 Freeway, plus a dedicated emergency department entrance, accessibility has been enhanced significantly. The facility also includes a beautifully designed lobby, advanced admitting and recovery areas and a nondenominational chapel for patients, hospital staff and visitors.
Gone are the days when 60% of the medical center’s adult beds were semi-private. Now every patient can enjoy the comfort and privacy of their own room, complete with an interactive TV, couch and private bathroom.
The new emergency room, with more than double the capacity of the previous one, will provide swift and efficient care to a growing number of patients, close to home.
“We went from a 15-bed emergency room to 32 beds. This will allow us to serve more of our community, provide greater access and make their experience quicker,” Lymberopoulos says.
A driving force behind the Tarzana Reimagined expansion and renovation project is to establish the medical center as a “destination hospital.”
“We want our community members not to have to think about leaving the Valley to get amazing care,” says Lymberopoulos. “That was the intent of our partnership with Cedars-Sinai: to keep care local and to elevate our care.”
With the Friese Family Tower, patients in the Valley have the comfort of knowing they have access to the latest innovations in diagnosis and treatment right in their neighborhood, without the burden of long commutes.
“It’s such an amazing time for the Valley,” says Lymberopoulos. “Together we are caring for one another and for this community.”
Right: Sharon Gross, executive director of construction for Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, with Erik Chessmore, VP, operations, of McCarthy Building Cos.
Previously published in the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center’s Health Matters Fall 2023 Issue.
