Just four months ago, MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach began construction on the Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village – an 80,000 sq. ft., four story medical building set to open in 2021.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, hundreds of patients, employees and community members gathered to celebrate the completion of the next phase of construction. At a special ceremony, attendees left their mark on history by signing the final steel beam to be raised onto the building, which signifies the end of the structural work.
When complete, the Children’s Village will give patients and their families access to pediatric doctors in more than 36 specialties, including cardiology, oncology and more, as well as a range of services, such as a laboratory, pharmacy, imaging and rehabilitation gyms, all in one location.
During the ceremony, Miller Children’s & Women’s Chief Operating Officer, Ike Mmeje, expressed his excitement for the progress. “It’s hard to believe that we have come so far in just four months. Our progress truly is a testament to the hard work and vision of our design-builder team, Caruana & Associates and Turner Construction. And it extends beyond the structure. Our multi-disciplinary care teams have been working hard over the last year and a half to ensure our patients and families have an exceptional experience from the moment they step into the Children’s Village.”
Following Mmeje, Jacob O’Donnell, field representative for Senator Lena A. Gonzalez, addressed the crowd and shared the Senator’s enthusiasm for the improvement in access to specialty health care that the Children’s Village will offer for children in the region. O’Donnell also presented Miller Children’s & Women’s leaders with a certificate of recognition in honor of the project.
Currently, Miller Children’s & Women’s provides care for patients in a variety of medical offices throughout Long Beach. The Children’s Village will bring those medical offices under one roof.
Miller Children’s & Women’s cares for 65,000 children each year in the outpatient setting, and the Children’s Village will expand access to care for the growing number of children whom require the specialized care of a children’s hospital. The Children’s Village also will support new programs and services which address the evolving, unique health care needs of the children and families in the region.
Learn more about opportunities to support this new state-of-the-art building and the comprehensive care to children who need it most by visiting millerchildrens.org/Village.
