Mark Garcia grew up in the shadow of Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. Born and raised in Boyle Heights, Garcia has been a patient here, visited family here, and on an overcast Saturday morning came to see for himself the bright and shiny complex that would be his new community hospital.

“It’s beautiful. All of the new stuff here, the new equipment and everything, is very fascinating. I’m going to feel very comfortable coming here in the future,” he says.

Several hundred of Garcia’s neighbors—community members from across East Los Angeles and beyond—got a sneak peek of the LAC+USC replacement facility when it laid out the welcome mat for a community open house on Saturday, Oct. 4.

The event included self-guided tours of the nearly 1.5-million-square-foot facility, located just east of the original LAC+USC structure, where the Keck School of Medicine has a tradition of providing medical service to the community. Attendees enjoyed refreshments and mingled with community leaders and volunteers. It was one in a series of special previews prior to the official opening in November.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who represents the district, called the new facility “one of the most significant buildings that [Los Angeles County] has built.”

“As the County, we are the safety net. And this facility serves a community that desperately needs health care but unfortunately doesn’t have access to it. Thousands upon thousands of children have been born here. It has met access needs for this community for a long time,” she said.

“The community will continue to welcome LAC+USC. It is a great neighbor,” she added.

As a lifeline of L.A. County’s health care system, the complex is an important site at which Keck School of Medicine provides clinical care to the county’s underserved and indigenous populations. More than 500 Keck faculty physicians practice at LAC+USC, in addition to 900 of its residents.

The original art deco complex has been a community fixture in this area since 1933 and has nearly 39,000 inpatient discharges, 150,000 emergency room visits and 1 million ambulatory care visits annually.

Barbara Causey knew the historical significance of this event. Causey came to the U.S. from Jamaica in 1965 and when her children got sick, it was LAC+USC she trusted to care for them.

“This building is like a landmark to us and a very special place,” she said. “I always knew I’d get really good care here. I had always been impressed with the doctors.”

A pictorial of the days events is available online at: www.usc.edu/hsc/info/pr/LACUSC/County_Open_House.html.