Providence St. Joseph Health System Southern California and Cedars-Sinai became the latest power couple in the Valley health care industry when they announced a joint venture to own and operate Provicence Tarzana Medical Center in March.
Providence retains controlling interest in the hospital with 51 percent ownership, and Cedars owns 49 percent. Providence staff were not affected by the joint venture, the company said in a statement, and the hospital retained its Catholic identity.
The partnership comes at an advantageous time for Providence, as its $542 million construction project on the hospital is underway, named Tarzana Reimagined.
Since the project was announced in 2016, the team at Providence has struggled with fundraising for Tarzana Reimagined; The Providence Tarzana Medical Center Foundation has only raised 15 percent of its original $75 million goal, which doubled to $150 million, according to the foundation’s website.
Although both parties have not publicly stated the exact amount Cedars will contribute toward the endeavor, Dale Surowitz, chief executive of the hospital, told the Business Journal in April that West Hollywood-based Cedars will contribute “proportionately to the project, to their ownership,” so tentatively 49 percent of the project’s $542 million.
Approximately 40 to 45 percent of the project is paid overall, Surowitz said.
Through the joint venture, the Tarzana hospital will expand specialty services, including complex cardiac surgeries and gynecological oncology.
Clinical offices near the hospital will help Cedars specialists serve the Valley area. The organization has leased space at Tarzana Medical Atrium at 5411 Etiwanda Ave. and Ventana Medical Plaza, 18133 Ventura Blvd.
“The goal is not to usurp what our physicians are already doing, but to augment programs and services, which is why people leave the Valley for care,” added Surowitz in a September interview with the Business Journal. “We work with them for gynecological oncology, because that’s not an extensive service that we offer on the west end of the Valley. There exists an opportunity to grow that and offer that service so that people don’t have to leave the area for care.”
“Our joint vision is driven by a dedication to provide residents of the San Fernando Valley with convenient access to an expert community of physicians who deliver the highest quality clinical care,” Thomas Priselac, Cedars-Sinai chief executive, said in a statement from March. “We’re delighted that this partnership will have such a meaningful impact on the health of our region.”
Tarzana Reimagined is under construction and on track to be completed by 2022, with occupancy scheduled for January 2023. The project includes a six-story patient building, expanded emergency room, lobby enhancement and additional parking. A retrofit project to meet seismic standards and enhancements to the current 21-bed neonatal intensive care unit and 33-bed women’s pavilion are part of the project. Also included are a “healing green space,” efforts to make new infrastructure sustainable and technology updates.
The site’s 600-space parking structure opened in October; groundbreaking of the patient tower was set to take place in November but has been delayed until early next year, Providence said.
