Sounding Off: Hospital is working to serve beach cities

It has been one year since Mission Hospital became your new neighbor in Laguna Beach. Time has flown by since we moved in last July, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share our progress and our vision for the future. I also want thank those of you who have shared your experiences with me, introduced yourselves and taken the time to speak with us about your healthcare needs and opinions. Without your open feedback, navigating through this first year successfully would not have been possible.

Following our $3 million commitment in renovations prior to occupying the 50-year-old facility, we tackled an additional $8 million to $10 million for refurbishments. As these improvements help ensure the best and safest environment for our patients, their families and our employees, we also focused our attention beyond the hospital’s walls and into the community.

With the invaluable help of 400 Laguna Beach residents last fall, we identified the health and quality-of-life needs of the community. This past spring, we shared those results with you through a variety of forums and worked with community members to prioritize and select the highest area of needs. Our primary focus in the community will be on the prevention of alcohol and substance use among youth. Furthermore, we are working with community partners to determine resources in the areas of mental health and depression, as well as job skills for the homeless. Though it isn’t possible to successfully tackle every identified need, we feel we can make the greatest impact by narrowing our efforts where they can be most effectual.

We are now embarking on the second phase of our journey: strategic planning. Over the next several months, we will be working with key stakeholders in the community to form collaboratives and develop strategies that address these issues. As we move forward with purpose, we will continue to seek ways to collectively work with you to ensure our efforts remain focused and effective.

With this, we hope that our long term commitment to the coastal communities is evident. Mission Hospital has spent nearly 40 years caring for south Orange County residents and investing back into the communities we serve. We are dedicated to serving south Orange County’s beach cities with the same passion and attention.

We understand that there is still a lot to learn from our new neighbors, and we will continue to seek opportunities for open dialogue with residents, our affiliated physicians, employees, volunteers and donors. From the polling process for our new name to multiple neighbor forums we have hosted, we hope that you feel welcomed to share your input with us. Already, it has been both humbling and rewarding to hear staff, volunteers and patients share their positive experiences with our hospital. We hope that our culture of providing advanced care and advanced caring will continue to resonate with those whom we’ve had the privilege to serve.

In the years to follow, Mission Hospital is committed to establishing an enduring presence in the beach cities and continuing to provide residents with the compassionate, high-quality care you have come to expect from your local community hospital. We are admirably appreciative for the community’s support in welcoming us to this neighborhood and hope to discover new opportunities to work in partnership to enhance the quality of life in our beautiful beach communities.

Michael Beck is vice president of operations at Mission Hospital Laguna Beach.