DOWNEY — Kaiser Permanente Downey began admitting patients into its new North Tower earlier this week.

The North Tower expansion adds 72 telemetry beds, two operating rooms, interventional radiology, and a dedicated Emergency Department entrance to the existing 352-bed hospital, as well as new technology.

It also enlarges the overall footprint of Kaiser in Downey, increasing the square footage to 823,000 square feet and making the hospital one of the largest in Southeast Los Angeles and within Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

The North Tower began admitting patients Wednesday.

“For the past two years, I’ve seen and heard how much the pandemic impacted Downey and the community it serves, and this opening marks an important milestone in our mission to care for our patients and the communities we serve,” said Payman Roshan, senior vice president and area manager, Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center. “Opening the North Tower enriches the excellent care and experience our physicians and staff provide to our patients every day.”

“I am proud to be part of an organization where physician-led medicine puts patients first and at the center of their care,” said J. T. Lee, area medical director, Southern California Permanente Medical Group- Downey. “We are thrilled to be opening this tower and soon admitting our first patients because we know it will be an asset to the Downey community and beyond.”

Not all of the tower’s new facilities will be immediately utilized, opening instead in phases.

An open house and ribbon cutting ceremony was held last week.