Community Hospital of Long Beach
Encyclopedia
Community Hospital of Long Beach is an acute care hospital
in Long Beach
, California
.
Nine years later, the Long Beach earthquake of 1933 shook the hospital but did little damage to the hospital. The hospital provided medical care to hundreds of residents following the disaster.
In the 1940s, the hospital added a new wing, increasing the number of beds to 150.
The 1960s and 1970s saw increasing modernization of hospital equipment and facilities with a doubling of the size of the emergency room
, the opening of an intensive care unit
, a nuclear medicine
department and a coronary care unit
.
In 1980, the hospital was deignated as a Historical Landmark.
The 1980s and 1990s saw changes of ownership. In 1982, Health West bought the hospital. Through a 1988 merger, UniHealth became the owners of the hospital followed by a purchase of the hospital in 1998 by Catholic Healthcare West
.
Throughout the same time period, additional changes and upgrades were made to the hospital including a neuropsychiatric
center, a neonatal intensive care unit
, an urgent care
facility and a cancer center. The hospital also received a name change to Long Beach Community Hospital Medical Center.
In the year 2000, Catholic Healthcare West closed the hospital prompting a strong reaction from the community around the hospital. After 9-months of “Save Our Neighborhood Hospital” community efforts, the hospital was re-opened with its current name in 2001.
Since that time, the hospital has continued to expand services by adding a 28-bed behavioral health
unit,an occupational medicine clinic and a women's health center for gynecological surgical services.
The hospital received a three-year Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
accreditation in 2006.
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
History
Community Hospital of Long Beach was founded in 1924 as Long Beach Community Hospital with 100 beds and 175 surgeons and physicians on staff.Nine years later, the Long Beach earthquake of 1933 shook the hospital but did little damage to the hospital. The hospital provided medical care to hundreds of residents following the disaster.
In the 1940s, the hospital added a new wing, increasing the number of beds to 150.
The 1960s and 1970s saw increasing modernization of hospital equipment and facilities with a doubling of the size of the emergency room
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
, the opening of an intensive care unit
Intensive care medicine
Intensive-care medicine or critical-care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life threatening conditions requiring sophisticated organ support and invasive monitoring.- Overview :...
, a nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine
In nuclear medicine procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the patient, can localize to specific organs...
department and a coronary care unit
Coronary care unit
A coronary care unit is a hospital ward specialized in the care of patients with heart attacks, unstable angina, Cardiac dysrhythmia and various other cardiac conditions that require continuous monitoring and treatment.-Characteristics:...
.
In 1980, the hospital was deignated as a Historical Landmark.
The 1980s and 1990s saw changes of ownership. In 1982, Health West bought the hospital. Through a 1988 merger, UniHealth became the owners of the hospital followed by a purchase of the hospital in 1998 by Catholic Healthcare West
Catholic Healthcare West
Catholic Healthcare West is a California-based not-for-profit public benefit corporation that operates hospitals in California, Arizona, and Nevada. As such, it is exempt from federal and state income taxes...
.
Throughout the same time period, additional changes and upgrades were made to the hospital including a neuropsychiatric
Neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychiatry is the branch of medicine dealing with mental disorders attributable to diseases of the nervous system. It preceded the current disciplines of psychiatry and neurology, in as much as psychiatrists and neurologists had a common training....
center, a neonatal intensive care unit
Neonatal intensive care unit
A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit —also called a Special Care Nursery, newborn intensive care unit, intensive care nursery , and special care baby unit —is an intensive care unit specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants.The problem of premature and congenitally ill infants is not a...
, an urgent care
Urgent care
Urgent care is the delivery of ambulatory care in a facility dedicated to the delivery of medical care outside of a hospital emergency department, usually on an unscheduled, walk-in basis. Urgent care centers are primarily used to treat patients who have an injury or illness that requires immediate...
facility and a cancer center. The hospital also received a name change to Long Beach Community Hospital Medical Center.
In the year 2000, Catholic Healthcare West closed the hospital prompting a strong reaction from the community around the hospital. After 9-months of “Save Our Neighborhood Hospital” community efforts, the hospital was re-opened with its current name in 2001.
Since that time, the hospital has continued to expand services by adding a 28-bed behavioral health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
unit,an occupational medicine clinic and a women's health center for gynecological surgical services.
The hospital received a three-year Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
The Joint Commission , formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations , is a United States-based not-for-profit organization that accredits over 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States...
accreditation in 2006.