Valley Presbyterian Hospital to Expand Emergency Department

VAN NUYS, Calif. — The Henry L. Guenther Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit focused on improving social conditions and promoting human welfare to alleviate pain and suffering, awarded Valley Presbyterian Hospital (VPH) a $250,000 grant for the hospital’s much needed $8.4 million emergency department renovation and expansion project, according to a statement.

As VPH provides services to many patients and families who lack access to quality health care in the area, the volume of patients who enter the hospital’s emergency department has grown significantly in recent years. The hospital’s emergency department sees approximately 66,000 patients annually, making it one of the busiest departments in the San Fernando Valley. In fall 2015, the hospital began an expansion and renovation of the emergency department to continue to meet the community’s growing needs for critical and urgent medical care.

“The foundation’s generous funding and support of our emergency department renovation and expansion project is instrumental in helping us to serve the critical health needs of the community’s most vulnerable patients now and in the future,” said Pegi Matsuda, VPH Foundation president and senior vice president of community development, in a statement.

The expansion will include the addition of 14,405 square feet of space to the department, increasing the patient bed capacity from 24 to 34 beds, and modernizing patient and clinical areas to improve comfort and workflow efficiency. Throughout the process, which will take approximately three years, the emergency department will remain fully functional and accessible to the community.

The Valley Presbyterian Foundation received the first installment of the grant in February 2016 and will receive the second and final installment of the grant in January 2017. To improve patient care and safety, Valley Presbyterian was also awarded a $100,000 grant in 2014 from the California Community Foundation to fund the implementation of a medication reconciliation pilot program in the emergency department to provide quality care to patients and reduce the risk of patients having a negative response to medication.