First published in the Dec. 10 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
USC Verdugo Hills Hospital feels like home — a familiar fondness that has been felt throughout the community for 50 years.
It’s a place where generations of families, including physicians and staff, have had their babies and taken their loved ones in their moments of need. That stands as a testament to the deep trust that lies in USC-VHH’s extension of comfort and care to its patients.
USC Verdugo Hills Hospital originated from Behrens Memorial Hospital, which was established in 1947.
Twenty-five years later, in 1972, Verdugo Hills Hospital was built on a nearby hilltop — a sparkling 58-bed acute care hospital that served La Cañada Flintridge, Glendale and surrounding foothill communities for more than 40 years.
In 2013, Verdugo Hills Hospital partnered with the University of Southern California, transforming into USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. USC-VHH joining the USC family meant becoming a part of one of the world’s leading private research universities with Keck Medicine of USC.
Though USC-VHH has reinvented itself since its humble beginnings as a quaint community hospital, its small-town feel and intimate level of care remains securely intact — continuing its history of being a staple for neighboring residents seeking medical treatment.
Dr. Armand Dorian, CEO of USC-VHH, said the move to expand and elevate itself into an academic hospital, while still holding on firmly to its roots, makes the institution unique to Los Angeles, with no other hospitals in the area quite like it.
“This hospital was built by the community, for the community,” Dorian said, “and the community at the time — 50 years ago — understood the fact that the most important factor of health care was the time of delivery of care. The faster you are seen and the more conveniently you are seen, the quicker you will get better.
“Any delay in care increases the chance for things not to go right,” he continued. “So, this community was smart enough to see the future by having something local and accustomed to the culture of the community, the heartbeat of the community and easily accessed by the community, which was vital for its survival.”
Dr. Happy Khanna, who is chief of staff and a pediatrician, said the hospital’s close-to-home proximity is one of its special attributes.
“USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, in my opinion, is a jewel sitting on top of the mountain that takes care of community members,” Khanna said. “We provide state-of-the-art technology and the best care you get downtown at Keck Hospital right here in your backyard, which makes it easier for the patients.”
The local hospital is revered by those it serves, Dorian noted.
“It’s like how your home in your community is special to you,” he explained. “It may not be the biggest home in Los Angeles, but when you pull up to our community, you feel that warmth. This hospital brings a lot of things — it brings caring people, a very supportive environment, state-of-the-art medication and technology when it comes to diagnostic and treatment tools, the highest level of physicians in the country … it does all of that in a culture that is inviting and nurturing. This is the feeling you get when you walk into your own home.
“When you feel special and cared for by someone who feels like a family member, you get better quicker,” Dorian continued. “That’s the beauty of what USC Verdugo Hills has to offer.”
USC-VHH also prides itself on being a hybrid academic-community hospital, where patients are getting innovative medicine and technology, but also personalized care that can only come from a community-oriented hospital.
“My motto here when I became the CEO is that we just come to work for two things — we come to work to take care of our patients and the second thing we come to work for is to take care of our people, each other,” Dorian said. “Because the people who come to work in a health care environment are really unique and special, they are willing to sacrifice themselves for others. They are selfless and giving to people. … The work that we do is very difficult and weighs on our soul most of the time but, wow, what a privilege to work with people who are not in the game of helping themselves but helping others.”
Dr. Nick Ghazarian, who is an orthopedic and spine surgeon, has a rich personal history with USC-VHH. The doctor was born at the hospital, volunteered in the emergency room and, later, after his training, returned to the community hospital — a full-circle milestone for Ghazarian.
“USC Verdugo Hills is different,” Ghazarian said. “The people here know each other — the staff knows each other, and the community knows each other. I really enjoy my time at the hospital — it’s like one big family. I feel honored to be a part of this team.”
Similarly, Khanna said USC-VHH has become more than just her place of work over the years.
“I spend more time at the hospital than I do my own home,” she said. “That’s my family and my home away from home.”
Perched above the foothills, USC-VHH is making strides into the future of medicine.
When it comes to prostate biopsies, the hospital is one of a few in the country that do artificial intelligence-guided MRI/ultrasound biopsy processes. The doctor who wrote the National Institutes of Health grant for that process is a physician at USC-VHH, Dorian said.
Additionally, the hospital recently opened its Interventional Radiology and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, which has brought artificial intelligence technology that aids interventional radiologists and cardiologists do what less than 20 hospitals in the country have the ability to do.
“We are celebrating 50 years and that’s a huge number for us to appreciate, but the best is yet to come,” Dorian said. “In the next 10 to 20 years, the hospital will achieve great heights. We have the pulse of technology here at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. Some people might just see us as a community hospital, but we are doing revolutionary medicine here in our community.
“There are so many cool things that are happening here from a technology standpoint that we couldn’t have done just being a community hospital,” he added, “so being a part of USC definitely helped, but we’re also very forward thinking from an administration and physician standpoint, where we are trying to push the envelope and bring the best and brightest with the best technology for USC Verdugo Hills.”
