A year and a half after the first shovel hit the ground, Turner Construction handed the keys to the Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village to MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach signifying the end of construction. When it opens in late February, this brand-new four story, 80,000 sq. ft. building located on the Miller Children’s & Women’s campus will house a variety of medical services and relocate several medical offices that currently are spread across Long Beach.
A special ceremony was held on Tuesday, Dec. 15 to mark the occasion with leaders from Miller Children’s & Women’s, Turner Construction and the project’s architect firm, c|a ARCHITECTS.
Turner Construction and c|a ARCHITECTS partnered to make a generous donation to install a colorful hanging mobile in the main lobby of the Children’s Village, which was unveiled during the ceremony. The mobile will be the first thing visitors see when stepping inside the building.
“This building would not be possible without the thoughtfulness of c|a ARCHITECTS,” says Susan Herman, chief nursing officer, Miller Children’s & Women’s. “They spent countless hours learning the needs of our families and staff to create an exceptional design that meets our unique needs and reflects who we are as a children’s hospital. That design was beautifully executed by Turner Construction, who has worked tirelessly even during this unprecedented year to make our vision a reality.”
A child with chronic or complex illnesses often needs care from multiple specialty physicians, as well as access to additional medical services, such as a pharmacy or imaging and laboratory. As a result, families are often challenged by multiple locations and appointments as they navigate their child’s health care journey.
Miller Children’s & Women’s will change the way families access health care for their child with the Children’s Village by bringing all of those services under one roof.
“The Children’s Village will expand access to care for the growing number of children in our region who require specialized care,” says Herman. “More importantly, it will improve the experience they have. Bringing a vast amount of health services together in one building makes it possible for families to receive the best care, at the right time, at a location close to them.”
To achieve this endeavor, Miller Children’s & Women’s used a combination of funds from Proposition 3 that was passed in 2008 and philanthropic support. The building bears the name of the late Cherese Mari Laulhere, whose family made a transformational gift to name and provide programmatic support in honor of Cherese’s legacy.
“We’re so grateful to Chris and the entire Laulhere family for choosing to honor the dreams of their late daughter Cherese,” says Sharon Thornton, president, Miller Children’s & Women’s Foundation. “Their generous support helps us not only realize our dream but to sustain it for generations to come.”
Newly finished Children's Village lobby.