In an elegant luncheon ceremony held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on October 21, 2015, Harbor–UCLA Medical Center / The Department of Health Services was awarded The Los Angeles County Image Enhancement Award at The 29th Annual Productivity and Quality Awards ceremony for its submission of “Using Art to Create a Healing Environment.” This Special Commission Award is presented to a service or department which “Promotes a positive awareness of County services.” This year’s theme was Champions for Change-Together We Make a Difference.

IEA4Harbor’s new and technologically advanced Surgery and Emergency Department building was designed, built and scheduled to open on April 20, 2014. However, while there was a strong belief that Art could make a difference in creating a warm, welcoming and healing environment for patients and staff, there had been no funds allocated for such enhancements. Fortunately, to find a solution Harbor’s Dr. Marianne Gausche-Hill rallied representatives from Emergency Medicine, Surgery and Nursing, along with local artists, businesses and volunteers, who together formed an Art Beautification Committee in championing the raising of over $200,000 in creating a more beautiful, art-filled, and nurturing healing space for staff and patients in the newly built 190,000 square foot Surgical/Emergency Department (SE) building on the campus of Harbor-UCLA.

IEA1We thank the work of the Art Beautification Committee, and its efforts in collecting the beautiful art for the well-deserved County Image Enhancement award. Indeed, walking the halls in our new SE building, one truly feels a warm, welcoming and healing environment.

Phillip Rocha
Public Information Officer
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center