2007 was a turbulent year for residents in need of hospitalization in the City of Inglewood. Three local area hospitals had already closed. MLK Hospital shut its doors in August, 2007; Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center closed in December, 2004; and Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital closed in September, 2007. After years of losing money, reductions in services and layoffs, the two local Centinela Freeman Hospitals were also on the verge of closing. However, before this could happen, Prime Healthcare purchased the ailing Centinela Hospital facility. At that time, Prime already owned seven successful community hospitals in California, and with the purchase of the now re-named Centinela Hospital Medical Center; it acquired a flagship facility for its growing hospital system.

In order to prove its commitment to the health of the community, Prime Healthcare made three pledges in support of the medical center:

1. Prime would bring much-needed long-term financial stability to the hospital.

2. Centinela Hospital Medical Center’s doors would remain open to anyone in need of medical care.

3. Prime would preserve all existing services, including its Emergency Department.

“As we have with our other community hospitals, we intend to provide Centinela Hospital Medical Center with all of the tools necessary to deliver the unique range of high quality health care services that the community has come to depend on,” said Prem Reddy, MD, FACC, FCCP, Chairman, President and CEO of Prime Healthcare An immediate $20 million capital improvement plan to provide much-needed upgrades to the medical center was announced.

Today, Centinela is not only open, it’s prospering and is among the highest rated hospitals in the nation with regards to quality and patient safety.

– The facility has been named among the “100 Best Community Hospitals” in the nation by Becker’s Healthcare

– Consistently receives “A” ratings from The Leapfrog Group in patient safety

– Has been named a “Top 100 Hospital” in the United States multiple years in a row by Truven Health Analytics (now IBM Watson Health).

– Has been named a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence and Patient Safety multiple years by Healthgrades – which places Centinela Hospital in the top 5% for quality care of all hospitals in the nation

– Centinela was awarded the Joint Commission’s Top Performer on Key Quality Measures award for 2013, 2014 and 2015 (2015 was the last year of the program).

Currently, Centinela Hospital is investing more than $80 million to transform the way care is delivered in the community, including expanding its Emergency Department and building a new unit for expectant families. In the pursuit of ensuring the hospital can provide the safest and best care to the community possible, the facility has been rapidly modernizing the infrastructure. The West Tower has been seismically retrofitted. The increase in the size of the emergency department is vital as more than 60,000 patients come through the doors annually. Additional campus improvements have included a new emergency power plant and electrical system, a new clinical lab and remodeled physical therapy area, a new nursery, installation of a third state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab, and a new lobby, admitting area, and front entrance.

Some additional upgrades include:

– Implemented electronic medical record systems

– Installation of a central tracking system

– Upgrades to surgical suites, a new nurse call-light system, parking lot refurbishments and a new security monitoring system

– In-room patient monitoring equipment

– A serenity garden that creates a comfortable, peaceful and quiet place.

– State-of-the-art upgrades to the hospital’s cardiac catheterization labs

– A new 64 slice CT scanner, a digital x-ray system and a new nuclear medicine scanner for the imaging department

– New surgical systems including, new anesthesia machines, sterilization equipment, operating tables and surgical tools

– New digital physician voice recognition dictation system.

– A newborn infant security system for the hospital nursery

The hospital and medical staff have joined forces to transform the culture of the hospital to one of innovation and collaboration. Rapid-response teams drive improvement and address areas where there was opportunity to do more. Enabling communication and problem-solving in an environment where titles have no influence on the evaluation of solutions has allowed innovative ideas to flourish. With services such as the Tommy Lasorda Heart Institute, nationally recognized neurosurgery and orthopedics programs, Centinela is one of the leading hospitals in Los Angeles County, more than fulfilling the promises to the community made years ago when the hospital joined Prime Healthcare.