Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox, Staff Writer
SHERMAN OAKS - Calling it a difficult decision, the internationally renowned Grossman Burn Center is leaving its home of 40 years at Sherman Oaks Hospital for West Hills Hospital & Medical Center, where it hopes to expand the reach and quality of its care.
West Hills, which is owned by Nashville-based HCA Inc., is completing a $60 million expansion and will now host the burn center's new flagship surgical facility and its national headquarters.
'We realized that by going to West Hills we had a significantly better opportunity for development and advancement of burn care with a great deal of support, not only from West Hills but from the corporate side, Hospital Corporation of America,' Dr. Peter H. Grossman, the burn center's co-director, said Tuesday.
Financial details regarding the move were not released.
Some burn services could be offered by the end of the year and the center's new location should open by April, Grossman said.
The center had also been in negotiations with Sherman Oaks Hospital and its owner, Prime Health Care Services Inc., based in Victorville.
Grossman said he was 'not in sync' with Prime Health executives' ideas for the center's future.
'They had their plan ... and we had a loftier idea,' Grossman said.
'This has been a very difficult decision. There is some history here. People we have worked with for decades. This is the place where my father (Dr. A. Richard Grossman) started the burn center.'
John Rossfeld, chief executive officer of Sherman Oaks Hospital, said he's disappointed that the center is leaving.
'We were hopeful we could continue to have the burn center at Sherman Oaks Hospital ... and thought we had given a good proposal. We will help them in every way possible to make this transition,' Rossfeld said.
The Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital will be located in the space formerly occupied by the hospital's intensive care unit, which is being relocated to a 45,000-square foot, two-story building being built on the West Hills campus.
'It's a really big deal. The Grossman Burn Center is nationally known. It's very prestigious,' said Beverly Gilmore, president and chief executive officer of West Hills. 'Their reputation is impeccable and we are really pleased that they have chosen us.'
Founded in 1969, the center provides comprehensive and innovative treatment for patients with burns - from acute care and reconstruction to rehabilitation and psychological counseling.
In 1985, the senior Grossman and the late actor and child advocate McLean Stevenson founded the Children's Burn Foundation.
There are also Grossman Burn Centers in Santa Ana, Bakersfield and Lafayette, La.
They are primarily known for treating emergency personnel burned while on duty but also for helping severely burned children.
The center is currently treating Ni Na Phung, a native of Da Nang, Vietnam, who in 2007 was doused with gasoline and set on fire by an acquaintance whom she declined to date.
Phung is 19 now and still needs more operations.
And the Children's Burn Foundation treated Youssif, a 6-year-old Iraqi boy who was drenched in gasoline and set ablaze by masked insurgents outside his Baghdad home. He needs months of treatment at the burn center.
The center has also treated some celebrities, like Travis Barker, the former drummer for the rock band Blink 182 and the late disc jockey Adam 'DJ AM' Goldstein.
And even though the center is moving from Sherman Oaks Hospital, Rossfeld is glad it's not going too far.
'It's been a service that's been at the hospital for a long time. It has a very rich history. We're very pleased that the ultimate decision has them remaining in the San Fernando Valley,' he said.
greg.wilcox@dailynews.com
818-713-3743
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2 photos
Photo:
(1 -- color) Grossman Burn Center is leaving its home of 40 years at Sherman Oaks Hospital for West Hills Hospital & Medical Center.
Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer
(2) The Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks is moving to West Hills Hospital & Medical Center, which is completing a $60 million expansion and will host the burn center's new flagship surgical facility and its national headquarters.
Michael Owen Baker Staff Photographer
