Important to support Verdugo Hills

Much has been said about the challenges of healthcare reform legislation. With healthcare reform, more and more academic medical centers will enter into strategic partnerships with community-based hospitals in an effort to create a comprehensive system of care that will benefit local residents.

Verdugo Hills Hospital’s partnership with the University of Southern California and affiliation with the Keck Medical Center of USC will secure its future and provide the hospital with the capacity and resources required to meet the changing healthcare needs of our patients and the challenges of healthcare reform. This partnership will put both institutions in a better and stronger position to offer more services to the community, and to continue to provide a high level of patient care. It will broaden the availability and improve access to services to Foothill residents.

I have lived, raised a family and been actively engaged in this community for some 50 years. I can attest to the fact that Verdugo Hills Hospital is a vital part of the infrastructure that makes this community a great place to live.

I am pleased the hospital has taken a proactive step to respond to healthcare reform policies on the horizon by joining forces with a world-class academic healthcare and research organization. I am especially proud of the local hospital for positioning itself through an affiliation with USC to be a valued asset for the community for another 40 years.

Verdugo Hills Hospital has a strong 40-year legacy of providing care to our community and it is important that we, as a community, support this affiliation to ensure its viability and growth in the future.

Carl W. Raggio
Glendale

Editor’s note: The writer, a former mayor of Glendale, is a member of the Verdugo Hills Hospital Board of Directors.