Cedars Sinai

Cedars-Sinai Health System has finalized its acquisition of the Greater Valley Medical Group, which has offices in Ventura County. The acquisition adds 50 physicians and more than 50,000 managed-care patients to Cedars-Sinai Health System and expands its geographical coverage area.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will open a medical storefront Wednesday at the Beverly Center. Beverly Center marketing director Evette Caceres said the $250,000 Picture Your Health storefront is intended to create a "comfortable environment" that blends into the shopping scene. The storefront will provide testing for breast cancer, osteoporosis and strokes at a lower fee than a visit to Cedars-Sinai, said Joan Herbst, a marketing director for the medical center.

Frank Sinatra was discharged Friday from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Los Angeles, where he had been undergoing treatment since Jan. 9 for what his doctor described as an "uncomplicated heart attack." "His prognosis continues to be good," said Susan Reynolds, the legendary entertainer's spokeswoman. "He's delighted to be home, as would be expected." Two days before the heart attack, Sinatra, 81, had been hospitalized overnight at Cedars for an undisclosed procedure.

Re: The Times article on the Cedars-Sinai Master Plan (Feb. 11): I attended the public hearing, and contrary to the view of your reporter, I saw more people speaking in support than in opposition. The West Hollywood Community Alliance comprises 171 businesses, many of them in the Robertson-Beverly area. We understand the reality of traffic, but we also understand the importance of the medical center, both as a world-renowned health-care provider and as a significant economic force.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the largest private hospital in the West, said Friday that it will once again challenge a vote by its registered nurses to join a labor union. After losing a regional hearing conducted by the National Labor Relations Board in March, the hospital will appeal the decision to the board's national headquarters in Washington. A final ruling could take months. Officials with the California Nurses Assn.

Ground was broken Tuesday on a $10-million expansion project that will nearly double the size of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's emergency room and enable the hospital to accept more trauma patients. Spokeswoman Paula Correia said the current emergency room was designed to handle 50 to 80 patients a day when it opened in 1976. She said it now must accept 150 to 200 a day. "When we're at over-capacity, we have to close the emergency room," she said.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is expected to start construction within three years on a major expansion project that calls for adding four new buildings over a 15-year period to the 22-acre medical facility, said Irving Feintech, chairman-elect of the board of directors. Feintech said the expansion is vital to the medical center's future, in large part because it will allow additional outpatient care. Such treatment, Feintech said, "is one of the most important trends in patient care today."

When Ms. Liz suffered seizures following her brain surgery, he reassured us that such complications are common and that "she is continuing to recover very nicely." When rumors swirled about Michael Jackson's impending parenthood, he finally confirmed that Jackson's wife, Debbie Rowe, had left the hospital with a healthy newborn son.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is about to embark on a major expansion, adding a 1,900-space parking structure and four buildings to its already crowded grounds in an effort to come to terms with changing demands for medical service.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center celebrated its "Campaign for the 21st Century" at a gala Monday at the Regent Beverly Wilshire and announced that more than $40 million has been raised toward the five-year goal of $140 million. Funds will support patient care, research, medical education and community service. Anne and Kirk Douglas are honorary co-chairmen of the campaign. Pacific Center for HIV/AIDS Counseling and Psychotherapy netted $75,000 at a black-tie gala Sept. 19 at the Bonaventure.