Sherman at Groundbreaking for Providence Holy Cross Medical Center

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Brad Sherman on Friday helped break ground on a major expansion of the Providence Holy Cross Emergency Department and Trauma Center.

œThis is a very important project for a hospital that is expanding to meet the critical health care needs of the growing and aging population in the San Fernando Valley and beyond, said Sherman.

Providence Holy Cross is the second busiest hospital in Los Angeles. It operates one of only two remaining trauma centers in the Valley. Recent hospital closings in Granada Hills and Northridge along with the shuttering of four other hospitals in Los Angeles County in the past two years have driven more patients to the Mission Hills hospital.

The congressman said he is hopeful that Congress will earmark some of the $1.5 million he sought in federal assistance for a new imaging facility that is part of the expansion project.

Imaging equipment combines X-ray and computer technology to create pictures of tissue that help medical experts spot cancer, diagnose traumatic injuries and avoid unnecessary surgery.

The hospital has called the new imaging facility œa critical component of the expansion because patients currently experience œsignificant wait times even after they have been transferred to an œoverwhelmed and œobsolete imaging center located a full city block away and across the street in a trailer.

The expansion of the emergency department and trauma center will add 6,600 square feet to the facility, and double the size of the department from 16 beds to 34 beds.