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We created a special anniversary coloring book. Each page in the book is unique and was hand drawn by our patients.
We’re 1 of 8 free-standing children’s hospitals in California and still practice patient and family centered care, true to our founder’s vision 50 years ago.
In 2003, women’s health care became part of the hospital when we brought women’s services (maternity care) under our license. A decade later, we officially added “& Women’s” to our name to reflect the full level of care that we provide.
In 2021, we will open the Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village – an 80,000-sq. ft., four-story building on our campus that provides a one-stop-shop approach to outpatient care.
In the 1960s, hospitals in the Long Beach area only had pediatric units that were primarily devoted to surgery. At that same time, the late Dr. Harry Orme, Long Beach’s first pediatric cardiologist, learned about an innovative concept called “patient and family centered care” while traveling.
He fell in love with the idea, and as a physician himself, he knew that families were a key part to a patient’s recovery. He began to work toward the establishment of a children’s hospital in Long Beach that would embody the patient and family centered care philosophy and change the culture of pediatric health care.
Dr. Orme enlisted the support of a successful Long Beach contractor, Earl B. Miller and his wife, Loraine H. to help fulfill his vision. Earl and Loraine Miller’s love for the children of Long Beach prompted them to establish the Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation. Loraine’s first project was to fund the building of Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach.
On Sept. 6, 1968, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the start of construction of what was then called the Earl and Loraine Miller Children’s Hospital. Two years, two months and 21 days later, on Nov. 27, 1970, we held the opening ceremony and cemented ourselves as the sixth free-standing children’s hospital in California. Today, we remain one of only eight free-standing children’s hospitals in our state.
In 2009, we underwent a major expansion through the building of a 124,000-sq. ft., inpatient pavilion. The four-story pavilion added a pediatric imaging center, pediatric surgery center, 24 new general pediatric beds, and 48 new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds—bringing the total number of NICU beds to 93. This expansion made our NICU among the largest in the state, which we remain.
Fifty years later, the visionary patient and family centered care model that Dr. Orme founded our hospital on remains. Each year, we provide care to nearly 15,000 children who need hospitalization, as well 65,000 children who need ongoing specialized follow-up care.
Over the next 50 years, as we grow and change to meet the unique needs of children in our community, one thing will stay the same – patients and their families are the core of everything we do, including our future Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village – an 80,000-sq. ft., four-story building opening on our campus in 2021.
Many children suffer from multi-system illnesses that affect multiple organs or have multiple health conditions, which often require pediatric expertise in more than one area. As a result, families are often challenged by multiple office locations and appointments as they navigate their child’s health care journey.
The unique setting of the Children’s Village will bring all our pediatric specialties under one roof, allowing families to receive all the care they need in one easy-to-access location.
Combining the needs of our patients and families with input from physicians and our multi-disciplinary care teams, we’re creating a building that will support a collaborative, efficient model of care, while prioritizing the unique needs of the patients and families we serve.
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