Placentia-Linda Hospital celebrates 46th birthday with new $10 million operating room, procedures

Placentia-Linda Hospital is celebrating its 46^th birthday this month with a new $10 million operating room that will expand the types of procedures performed at the 114-bed facility founded by 19 local physicians in 1972.

Now, cardiovascular, vascular and interventional radiology procedures are added to the list of operations done at the hospital, utilizing the new operating room, which officially opens today, Sept. 20, with an open-to-the-public event with light food and refreshments at 3:30-4:45 p.m.

“Placentia-Linda Hospital’s multi-million dollar investment shows our commitment to growing within the Orange County community and serving the people in our neighborhood,” noted a statement from Christina Oh, the hospital's chief executive officer since October 2016.

“With the opening of this new service, patients will be able to stay in the hospital for critical procedures and access state-of-the-art outpatient procedures close to home,” Oh stated.

She added, “Close proximity means a better experience for patients and a reduced cost burden for the healthcare community at large. By offering these new...procedures, we are striving to live our mission of quality healthcare with a personal touch.”

Last year, the hospital paid nearly $800,000 in property and sales taxes, funded $40 million in wages and benefits and provided more than $700,000 in charity care, according to a hospital-compiled report. The facility has 541 employees, 300 affiliated doctors and 70 volunteers.

Other new and expanding enterprises:

--Anytime Fitness will operate 24 hours daily in a 5,400-square-foot space at the Yorba Canyon Shopping Center that formally housed a restaurant, based on a conditional use permit granted by the Yorba Linda Planning Commission.

The new business near Yorba Linda Boulevard and New River Road was approved on a 4-1 vote, with one of the City Council-appointed commissioners opposed to a 24-hour operation.

--St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School will add 2,855 square-feet to its 4,700 square-foot kindergarten building under a design review granted on a 5-0 planning commission vote.

Changes at the 5330 Eastside Circle campus will include playground modifications and a new covered outdoor lunch area.

--”A number of unique characteristics” regarding property the city is selling for $3.5 million to In-N-Out Burger, now occupied by the library along with an adjacent vacant lot, “may require time, coordination and negotiations” to resolve, according to a recent city report.

Issues involve title to part of the property still in the name of the former Yorba Linda Library District that merged with the city in 1985 and right-of-way and vacated easements listed as encumbrances on some of the property.

The land isn't scheduled for transfer to In-N-Out before August 2020 and construction of the eatery won't begin until the library moves to its new Lakeview Avenue-Lemon Drive location.