Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/599442
3 8 | PULSE W i n t e r 2 0 1 5 N inety years ago the Torrance family's vision was realized when the 32-bed Jared Sydney Torrance Memorial Hospital opened. e hospital was named for the city's founder, who bequeathed $100,000 to the Torrance Hospital Association before his 1921 death. Torrance believed building a hospital would help make the city, which he had founded a decade earlier, completely modern. However, his bequest was declared invalid because of a technicality in state laws. His widow, Helena Childs Torrance, and his family honored his wishes by purchasing land on Engracia Avenue in Old Torrance, constructing the building and deeding it to the Torrance Hospital Association. e hospital admitted its first patients on May 17, 1925. Torrance's widow went on to serve as a major benefactor and was largely responsible for sustaining the hospital through its first decade. She also remembered the hospital in her will with a generous bequest. e independent, nonprofit hospital survived the Great Depression and other hardships throughout the years to become nationally recognized as a leading multi-faceted health care system. Its evolution included a move across town, two name changes and the building of a state-of-the-art medical campus outfitted with the latest technolog y. e ultra-modern Lundquist Tower is a far cry from the quaint, Spanish-style architecture of the original hospital on Engracia Avenue. Torrance Memorial Medical Center's success is credited to forward- thinking leadership, a passionate and highly educated staff, and a steadfast commitment to providing medical care excellence for the South Bay community. "It is unique for Torrance Memorial to still be an independent hospital system in the state of California, of which we are very proud," says Craig Leach, Torrance Memorial's president and CEO. "With about 150 hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange County combined, only about a half-dozen remain independent. We feel that a local board making decisions about the community we serve continues to be the best approach." For the third straight year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Torrance Memorial as one of the best hospitals in California and the Los Angeles metro area for 2014–2015. As one of the largest health-care facilities in Los Angeles (based upon the number of admissions and patient days), Torrance Memorial Medical Center is an industry frontrunner that continues to attract top physicians through technological capabilities for on-campus advanced medical procedures, including high- end, complex cardio, neurological and orthopedic surgeries. "From a value standpoint, we deliver top quality at an appropriate cost level. We add to that a culture of service with a high level of passion and compassion for how we do what we do. is is a great hospital," says Leach. Mimi Brody, Kate Crane, Craig Leach, George Graham, Bill Collier, Norman Panitch, MD, and Peggy Berwald, RN, have each played a unique and critical role in making Torrance Memorial what it is today. H A P PY 9 0 T H B I RT H DAY