Pasadena, USC celebrate opening of Keck Medicine’s new building

HEALTH CARE

City leaders, community welcome medical enterprise’s latest addition

Keck Medicine of USC celebrates the completion of the newly built, four-story medical building in Pasadena on Friday. photos by Sarah Reingewirtz — Staff Photographer

Physical therapist Daniel Fox tests state-of-the-art force plates in the physical therapy office of Keck’s new medical building in Pasadena on Friday as USC graduate student Jake Heydon watches.

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By Isabel Umekubo

iumekubo@scng.com

Keck Medicine, USC’s expanding medical enterprise, celebrated its Pasadena opening on Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its newly built medical building — the latest entrant into the city’s emerging biosciences corridor.

City leaders, doctors, physicians, trustees and community members gathered to celebrate new medical advancements and outpatient services that the building will offer to populations in and around Pasadena.

The new Pasadena location —a four-story, 100,000-square-foot building at 590 S. Fair Oaks Ave. — displays floor-to-ceiling windows and sweeping views of the San Gabriel mountains.

Those views are now the backdrop to Keck Medicine’s doubled service capacity in the area, officials said.

Patients will now have access to expert physicians who treat patients at Keck Medical Center of USC, officials said. That ranges from specialists affiliated with USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center to experts from the USC Cardiac and Vascular Institute and USC Orthopedic Surgery, which provides care for USC’s athletic teams and the Kings.

The building will also serve USC’s academic mission, offering medical students, residents and fellows a clinical training hub, under the supervision of Keck School of Medicine of USC physicians.

Soft lighting, ambient music and calm, neutral colors were displayed across the new building’s levels.

With views of the city, comfortable waiting areas and surrounding multi-specialty services, Keck officials envision a bustling space where local patients can receive services right at their doorstep.

“Our vision all along was to make sure that we are bringing the great talents that we have closer to the community,” said Rod Hanners, CEO of Keck Medicine at USC. “Pasadena has always been a key healthcare marker for USC, (so) it seemed natural for us to make sure that we made things convenient for the community.”

Hanners said the opening will raise a level of care for residents and beyond, ensuring better access to subspecialty care.

“As far as an ambulatory care experience, the citizens of Pasadena and the surrounding communities can be rest assured that they’ve got a state-of-the-art building, state-of-the-art equipment, with state-of-the-art physicians and caregivers to coordinate their care and give them a great experience,” Hanners said.

On the fourth floor, where its Cancer & Infusion center resides, art by local Pasadena and Altadena artists is displayed.

“In order to keep it fresh for them, we have a space that will have a rotating gallery of local Pasadena and Altadena artists, so our patients are able to enjoy a nice, visually appealing piece and have a new experience every time they come in,” said Seth Lake, Keck Medicine’s manager of patient experience.

The building’s completion also marks a new entrant in the city’s bioscience corridor, where an array of tech and health care organizations have found a home, not far from Huntington Memorial Hospital.

Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo marked the event as a “great day for Pasadena and for those seeking medical help anywhere and everywhere.”

“We should be proud to add Keck Medicine to our lineup of great institutions here in the great city of Pasadena,” he said.

Gordo described the opening as a great addition, as it will bring trained professionals to help during a time of need — for Pasadena residents and beyond.

“I think this is a renaissance, if you will, of Pasadena becoming the Silicon Valley of medical technology care and service, and we should be very proud of that,” he said.

For residents curious about medical care or about institutions like Keck Medicine, Gordo encouraged them to visit.

“We have the best in the world here to help you,” he said. John Ulmer, a Pasadena resident and USC alumni, has walked by the building ever since it started construction in 2022.

“To have a facility like this close by, as I’m older, it’s nice to have medicine that I trust locally,” said Ulmer.

Ulmer described the new location as “exciting,” as he and his family members have benefitted from Keck Medicine’s care and services.

“Word of mouth is the power of all medical care,” he said. “They really do reach out for very strong physicians to support the institution, and that word of mouth is going to impact the community more and more as the years go on.”