Torrance Memorial Medical Center & Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach Partner to Expand Access to Highly Specialized Pediatric Hospital Care

TORRANCE and LONG BEACH, Calif., July 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two of Los Angeles County's most prominent hospitals—Torrance Memorial Medical Center and Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach—have formed an alliance to increase access to comprehensive, specialized, pediatric hospital care for South Bay communities.

Pediatric specialty care physicians from Miller Children's Hospital Specialty Group are providing inpatient consultations for pediatric inpatients in the Torrance Memorial pediatric unit as part of their partnership to build a comprehensive pediatric specialty hospital program. Pediatric specialties represented from Miller Children's include pediatric orthopedics, general surgery, pulmonary, gastroenterology, infectious disease and more. 

"We look forward to combining the resources of our two outstanding facilities to offer South Bay families specialized pediatric care close to home," says Craig Leach, president and CEO of Torrance Memorial Medical Center. "The physicians at Miller Children's are highly skilled in their sub-specialties and care for some of the most complex pediatric cases. It is a tremendous benefit to our community to be able to offer this breadth of expertise within our hospital. Over the years physicians from Miller Children's have had a strong presence in our community, with many of its physician specialists already caring for our pediatric patients at Torrance Memorial. This partnership is the perfect way to ensure that care not only continues, but expands during a particularly challenging time in health care."

"Children's health care needs are different from adults," explains Diana Hendel, PharmD, CEO of Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach, Long Beach Memorial and Community Hospital Long Beach that are part of MemorialCare Health System.  "As pediatric sub-specialists, our physicians have completed years of additional training to care for children and their still growing bodies. Our physicians are excited to join with Torrance Memorial in expanding this specialized care to South Bay families."

"Children's hospitals are the backbone of the nation's pediatric health care infrastructure," adds Barry Arbuckle, PhD, president and CEO of MemorialCare Health System, which includes six hospitals and more than 200 care locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The opportunity for Miller Children's to expand its reach and join forces with Torrance Memorial will result in great benefits for South Bay families and physicians. We are looking forward to this long-term strategic collaboration with Torrance Memorial, one of the region's premier hospitals."

About Torrance Memorial Medical Center:
Torrance Memorial Medical Center—the South Bay's first and largest hospital—was recently named by U.S. News & World Report as among the top 6 percent of hospitals in California and by readers of the Daily Breeze and Easy Reader as South Bay's Best Hospital. It houses only one of three comprehensive burn centers in Los Angeles County as well as a Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the highest designation by the State of California. The medical center is a locally governed, 401-bed, non-profit medical center whose purpose is to provide quality health care services, predominantly to those who live and work in the South Bay, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Beach cities and Harbor communities. Under the governance of a community-based Board of Trustees, Torrance Memorial serves the public interest by improving the community health, offering the most current and effective medical technologies rendered in a compassionate, caring manner, and maintaining long-term stability to assure its strength and viability for the benefit of the community.

About Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach:
Miller Children's is the nation's ninth largest children's hospital and largest in the state by number of staffed beds, according to the 2013 AHA (American Hospital Association) Guide. Part of MemorialCare Health System, it cares for 125,000 children annually through its hospital, outpatient and specialty centers. Together with Long Beach Memorial, its hospital campus is among the West's two largest, ensuring patients a lifetime of uninterrupted care. Only 5% of hospitals are children's hospitals, making them unique to children's health needs. One of eight free-standing children's hospitals in California, Miller Children's offers specialized care for children and young adults, with common to complex conditions—as well as maternity care for expectant mothers and among the nation's largest and most highly respected neonatal and pediatric intensive care units—all under one roof. Miller Children's is renowned for dozens of specialty care services; Jonathan Jaques Children's Cancer Center; pediatric cardiology, orthopedics and emergency centers; is rated among the best for treating cystic fibrosis, blood disorders and sickle cell anemia; and acknowledged globally for significant advances in treating mothers and children with HIV.

SOURCE Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach; MemorialCare Health System