Countywide : Opening of CHOC Wing Celebrated

About 300 people turned out in Orange on Monday to help Children’s Hospital of Orange County celebrate the opening of its new wing.

Patients, parents, hospital staff, county officials and celebrities took part in the festivities, which featured a time capsule burial, a brick walkway with inscriptions on the bricks and an art exhibit by two parents of CHOC patients.

One of the artists, Daniel K. Sorrell, displayed four collages with his daughter, Bronte, by his side. The 23-month-old girl, who suffers from brain damage, uses a wheelchair equipped with devices that hold her upright.

“I had a lot of emotions I wanted to get out,” the father said. “So I got those frustrations and feelings in these pictures.”

Sorrell used photographs of Bronte in the hospital, her X-rays, clippings from his journal and copies of notes from nurses for the collages. “This is how I got my feelings out, and I have faith that Bronte will be fine one day,” Sorrell said.

He said his family spent months at CHOC dealing with Bronte’s condition, emergency operations and dozens of other surgeries, just as hundreds of other families have.

For parents who, like the Sorrells, have slept in chairs awaiting surgery results, the new wing will provide quarters where they can nap in beds.

The state-of-the-art pediatric facility also has a radiology laboratory, a pharmacy and larger sleeping quarters for doctors.

“I love it. It’s beautiful,” said Christina Bond of Bakersfield. She attended the event to see the brick dedicated to the memory of her cousin, Phillip Eterno, who died of lung cancer at the hospital last year.

Representatives of organizations and schools who have donated money for the completion of the five-year construction project were also present to view the personalized bricks that line the walkway of CHOC’s new entrance.

Tammy and Eric Larsh rubbed a brick dedicated in honor of their 2-year-old daughter, Britte, with paper and crayon to take home as a memento of the event.

“Britte was born premature and has undergone 16 surgeries,” Tammy Larsh said. “She’s spent such a large portion of her life here. We think this new building is wonderful. If you got to be here, this is the place.”

Nurse Michelle Spitaleri echoed the sentiment. The new wing “is a great addition to the hospital,” she said. “It’s more welcoming to patients and visitors.”

Guests toured the bright-colored lobby as a Disneyland band played and Olympic athletes Florence Griffith Joyner and Al Joyner, her husband, signed autographs.

Hospital officials buried a time capsule filled with patients’ artwork, CHOC paraphernalia, a letter detailing current treatments for cystic fibrosis, dolls and other items. Officials plan to open the capsule in the year 2014, when CHOC celebrates its 50th anniversary.

“Orange County is known for Mickey Mouse and Disneyland,” County Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder said. “But after today and in years to come, (CHOC) will be another landmark.”

Donations totaling $10 million have been raised to help fund the $60-million addition, CHOC officials said. The hospital’s fund-raising guilds raised $2.5 million. Doctors and nurses donated $800,000 and all CHOC employees took payroll deductions for three years to raise another $150,000.

“We’re all excited,” said Penni Lesly, a fund-raising campaign assistant. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this opening.”