Remembering Wayne Ratkovich

Renowned real estate developer and co-chair for the new patient tower expansion capital campaign for California Hospital Medical Center, dies

LOS ANGELES (October 16, 2023) — CHMC Foundation expresses its deepest condolences on the recent passing of Wayne Ratkovich, co-chair of the Your City, Your Hospital capital campaign. He was 82.

Wayne Ratkovich Wayne, a native of Los Angeles, was a real estate developer and founder and CEO of The Ratkovich Company who worked on preserving 18 landmark buildings across Los Angeles including the James Oviatt Building, The Wiltern Center, Richfield Building, The BLOC, The Fine Arts Building and the Google Campus in Playa Vista, to name a few.

As much as Wayne shaped the landscape in Los Angeles, he was also a champion for reshaping the health care landscape in the city he loved.

“California Hospital is clearly tied to the soul of downtown Los Angeles,” Wayne said in a campaign video series filmed in 2020. “It plays a role it has played for years: it serves everybody. And it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than that. The new tower is important…it shines a spotlight on this hospital and says ‘We’re here. We’re ready to serve. We are your hospital.’ Our city’s future depends on our ability to be a new kind of hospital.”

Campaign co-chairs Wayne Ratkovich and Dr. Robert Margolis at the new patient tower groundbreaking ceremony in 2019 “Wayne was the epitome of humankindness for Dignity Health - California Hospital Medical Center,” says Susan Shum, Chief Philanthropy Officer for California Hospital Medical Center Foundation. “He was able to bring his vision of creating equitable spaces for people, no matter their background, to reimagine what it means to be a hospital for this community. This is a tremendous loss for our hospital and for Los Angeles.”

The hospital expansion includes a new, larger emergency and trauma center and two full floors of mother/baby care, including a completely redesigned Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The new patient tower is expected to open in early 2024.

Captions:

Photo 1: Wayne Ratkovich
Photo 2: Campaign co-chairs Wayne Ratkovich and Dr. Robert Margolis at the new patient tower groundbreaking ceremony in 2019

About California Hospital Medical Center Foundation

California Hospital Medical Center Foundation was founded in 1985 to raise philanthropic support for building projects, equipment, patient care services and community outreach for Dignity Health - California Hospital Medical Center. The generosity and vision of our donors generate the resources to provide the highest quality medical care to all in need, regardless of their ability to pay. The foundation has dedicated staff and is governed by a Board of Directors that oversees a comprehensive fund development program incorporating special events, private foundation and corporate grants, individual giving and government support— raising more than $25 million per year. Learn more at SupportCaliforniaHospital.org.

About Dignity Health - California Hospital Medical Center

Founded in 1887, Dignity Health California Hospital Medical Center is a 318-bed, acute care, nonprofit hospital located in downtown Los Angeles. The hospital offers a full complement of services including a Level II trauma center, the Los Angeles Center for Women’s Health, obstetrics and pediatric services, and comprehensive cardiac and surgical services. The hospital shares a legacy of humankindness with Dignity Health and is part of CommonSpirit Health, one of the nation’s five largest health care systems. Visit dignityhealth.org/californiahospital for more information.