Celebrating 35 years of service

As Verdugo Hills Hospital commemorates its 35th anniversary this month, hospital staff and officials are celebrating key milestones while reflecting upon the changing role the hospital holds in the community.

And the perseverance of the hospital through trying times is a familiar refrain among hospital officials and employees.

Since its opening in 1972, the hospital has remained independent in spite of a ruthless healthcare industry climate that to tends to make causalities of the smaller hospitals, said Richard Harris, president of the hospital’s foundation board.

“Health services in general are in difficult straits,” he said. “When you look at the all the closures, you look at the funding from government-type sources and the fact that all people are served whether they pay or not — that’s putting great stress on the industry. And Verdugo Hills is not exempt from that.”

Weathering that rough climate, hospital officials had to consider diversifying or merging with larger healthcare entities like Glendale Adventist simply to survive, Harris said.

But the decision was made about four years ago to remain independent — and the community has benefited because of it, he added. A large corporation — which may have several hospitals sprinkled throughout the country — puts decision making in the hands of people who are not necessarily a part of the community, he said.

When employees and executives have a direct and personal stake in the hospital, that translates into better-quality care for the community, Harris said.

“I would much rather have the decisions and quality of care decided by local people with local interests rather than a corporate entity that doesn’t know our community, that doesn’t reside in community, and that was administered on a for-profit basis,” Harris said.

And that community focus has kept patients like Thelma Epley, 88, and her husband, Joe, 90, coming back to Verdugo Hills for healthcare, even after they moved to Pasadena.

The two have gone frequently to Verdugo Hills since it first opened, for everything from serious operations to emergency room visits to physical therapy, Thelma Epley said.

Her experiences in Verdugo Hills’ physical therapy department related to knee problems left the biggest impression on her, she said.

“They worked real hard with me, and then they followed up and even sent a person to the house when I went home,” she said.