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Generations Ahead Sep 30, 2022 Jeremy Deutchman, Photography by Ted Catanzaro Share Tweet Post From left: Vera and Paul Guerin; their children Lisa, Michael and Dana; and their grandchildren Jacob, Samantha and Alexis, in the family-friendly space of Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s before its official opening in summer 2022. Paul and Vera Guerin, along with their children, bring transformative care to Cedars‑Sinai to meet the needs of patients as they grow from newborns to adolescents to adults with Guerin Children’s. There’s a tale in the Talmud—one of Judaism's holiest texts—about a righteous man named Honi the Circle Maker.
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Out on a walk one day, Honi encounters a woman, well into middle age, planting baby carob trees. "Given how long it takes a tree to grow, will you even be able to enjoy its shade?" Honi asks.
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"Perhaps not," comes the woman’s reply. "But when I was born into this world, I found carob trees my ancestors had planted for me.
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So, I am planting today, not just for my own sake, but also to leave a legacy for future generations." It’s a story with particular relevance to Vera and Paul Guerin, who have dedicated their lives to sowing the seeds of a stronger community by investing vital resources in medicine, education and the arts throughout Southern California and beyond with the Shapell Guerin Family Foundation. Now, with a historic $100 million donation—the largest lifetime gift in Cedars‑Sinai’s 120‑year history—to establish Cedars‑Sinai Guerin Children’s, Vera and Paul are tilling the soil to reshape the region’s medical landscape yet again. In the process, they seek to improve the health and wellbeing of countless children and families in the decades ahead.
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"What makes my parents so exceptional isn’t that they have the means to give; it’s that they hear a need and then step up when called. My siblings and I have learned from their example and will continue stepping up to serve the greater community." —Dana Guerin The reach of the Guerins’ philanthropy across Cedars‑Sinai is vast.
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In addition to giving millions to help advance transformative research discoveries and set new standards in clinical care, they have made extraordinary contributions of time and talent—Paul as an influential member of the Board of Governors, and Vera as former president of Women’s Guild and now immediate past chair of the Cedars-Sinai Health System Board of Directors. But their latest gift is of a different order of magnitude, and this time, they are not going it alone: Their three adult children, Lisa, Dana and Michael, the next generation of Guerin philanthropists, are with them every step of the way. "Paul and I learned about the importance of tzedakah [commonly translated from Hebrew as "charity," but more accurately understood as the pursuit of justice] from my parents, Nathan and Lillian Shapell, who were incredibly community minded," Vera says.
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"We felt it was incumbent upon us to serve as role models in a similar way, and from an early age we sought to inculcate the value of giving back." Our 26 inpatient rooms feature furniture that converts into beds for parents and guardians who wish to stay with their child at night. If giving is in the Guerin DNA, so too is Cedars‑Sinai: All three of Vera and Paul’s children and their six grandchildren were born at the medical center. According to Michael, he and his sisters were always aware of the prominent role it played in their parents’ lives.
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“Cedars‑Sinai is really and truly Paul and Vera’s fourth child!" he jokes. "We knew from day one their commitment was ours to share." With Guerin Children’s, that commitment has taken on a grand scale, offering an ambitious vision to provide a seamless continuum of primary and specialty care for hospitalized patients and outpatients as they grow from newborns to adolescents to adults.
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The new space features pediatric intensive care beds as well as a generous inpatient area in a family-friendly setting that includes a game and movie room, a peaceful outdoor garden, and a family lounge. Each patient room features colorful, soothing lighting and artwork created by local artists, with furniture that converts into beds big enough to allow two parents or guardians to stay overnight.
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Lisa knows firsthand just how crucial creating the right environment for children’s care can be. "I had to spend a lot of time in the hospital as a child, and unfortunately, my son, who’s now 13, had that same experience," she says.
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"Our community will reap enormous benefits from a special space that recognizes that kids are not just tiny adults—that they have different bodies and psychologies that require caregivers with specific expertise. It’s what makes this project so special to me." At Guerin Children’s, expert care doesn’t end when children grow up.
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Our young patients move seamlessly to adult specialists so they can have a lifetime of uninterrupted care. Paul and Vera have vivid memories of Lisa’s early health challenges—and of how difficult it was to find a local specialist whose skill set matched the medical need. "We ultimately had to go out of town to get her treated, and I remember us commenting to each other, 'Why can’t we access appropriate care in our own neighborhood?'" Paul recalls.
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"And we weren’t alone: Since we announced the gift for Guerin Children’s, we’ve heard so many similar stories and have had such an outpouring of support from people in the community." Guerin Children’s does more than just provide the right environment—and a convenient location—for promoting young people’s health; it ups the ante by redefining what world-class care can be. "What makes Guerin Children’s so exciting is that it fills a critical gap in care here in Los Angeles," Vera says.
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"There’s long been a tremendous demand for a hospital that can track young patients through adulthood—that continuum is absolutely essential and dramatically improves both the quality of treatment and outcomes over time." "For them, it’s not about recognition or ego; it’s always about the mission. If they put their name on something, they do it to model the importance of giving back with the hope that others will follow their lead.
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But they’re even happier when they can work behind the scenes, as part of a larger team." —Michael Guerin As infants develop into toddlers and tweens become teens, the Cedars‑Sinai care team will keep pace beside them, monitoring their progress and ensuring they receive the right care at the right time so they can continue to thrive and grow into healthy adults. "Parents can make one call and know they’re in the best hands and that their children’s medical records are all right there, allowing every physician and caregiver involved to get up to speed as quickly as possible," Paul says.
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As it innovates in the realm of patient care, Guerin Children’s will also help drive pediatric scientific breakthroughs with game-changing potential. "I'm a mom raising three kids, and I want to make sure Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs that are prescribed to kids have gone through all the necessary pediatric-specific trials," Dana says.
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One focus of this gift is facilitating child-specific research that takes place under the same roof as the care being provided. "Taking a comprehensive approach is central," adds Dana. "We want to make sure Guerin Children’s is covering the full sweep of children’s medicine." "Our community will reap enormous benefits from a special space that recognizes that kids are not just tiny adults—that they have different bodies and psychologies that require caregivers with specific expertise.
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It's what makes this project so special to me." —Lisa Guerin To that end, Guerin Children's is already positioning itself as an interdisciplinary tour de force. "We are laying the foundations for multiple premier programs that are home to the top specialists and subspecialists in their fields," says Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, the inaugural executive director of Guerin Children's and The David & Meredith Kaplan Distinguished Chair in Children's Health.
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"Our clinicians will leverage the expertise of their colleagues across the institution—in cancer, cardiac care, clinical neurosciences, orthopaedics, surgery and medical subspecialties, and that’s just the beginning. Thanks to Vera and Paul, we are able to envision a center that will become one of the premier tertiary and quaternary pediatric destinations in the United States." Under the umbrella of Guerin Children’s, and with leadership from Shervin Rabizadeh, MD, MBA, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, Cedars‑Sinai will build on its existing reputation for excellence in pediatrics. "Cedars‑Sinai has done remarkable work in the field and recruited first-rate physicians who are elevating practice to new levels," Vera says.
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"In addition to everything else it's going to enable, Guerin Children’s will shine a spotlight on what’s already here, including the unparalleled service that distinguishes Cedars‑Sinai." At Guerin Children’s, expert care doesn’t end when children grow up. Our young patients move seamlessly to adult specialists so they can have a lifetime of uninterrupted care.
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Service—operating at scale and making a tangible difference in as many people's lives as possible—is the raison d’être of Guerin Children's, as well as the driving force behind Vera and Paul’s philanthropy. "What makes my parents so exceptional isn’t that they have the means to give; it's that they hear a need and then step up when called," Dana says.
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"My siblings and I have learned from their example and will continue stepping up to serve the greater community." Another aspect of their parents that the Guerin children hope to emulate, says Michael, is their humility. "For them, it's not about recognition or ego; it’s always about the mission," he notes.
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"If they put their name on something, they do it to model the importance of giving back with the hope that others will follow their lead. But they’re even happier when they can work behind the scenes, as part of a larger team." From Vera and Paul’s perspective, collaborating on Guerin Children’s has been easy. "Cedars‑Sinai has been the best partner we could ever have hoped for," Paul says.
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"Working hand in hand with leadership on this project is, for us, like a dream come true." Care teams are developing post-procedure movement strategies to aid recovery, inspiring patients to move through the space and view the art pieces—from finding giraffes in one painting to searching for clouds in others. The admiration is mutual, says Arthur Ochoa, Cedars‑Sinai's senior vice president of Advancement and chief advancement officer.
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"We are so fortunate to have in Vera and Paul the most visionary, engaged and supportive partners possible." Indeed, the Guerins' penchant for collaboration has made them beloved across Cedars‑Sinai. "When Vera and Paul walk into a room, they make sure everybody else is heard and cared for," Lisa says. "They're very emotionally available, and they embody a warmth and kindness that radiates so everyone feels their embrace.
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They’re the kind of people I strive to be." It's the Guerins' version of planting carob trees—nurturing growth that will eventually provide shade for the entire community. "Paul and I, and our children, are so grateful to be part of this legacy," Vera says. "We hope others will join us in creating something wonderful and impactful that will endure for generations yet to come."
Growing Together An expansion of children’s services across the Cedars-Sinai Health System, Guerin Children's provides a seamless continuum of primary and specialty care for hospitalized patients and outpatients as they grow from newborns to adolescents to adults.
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It combines advanced clinical care, leading-edge pediatric research, and forward-looking physician education and training to support Cedars-Sinai and its growing network of healthcare partners across the region. Tags Pediatrics Children's Health Share Tweet Post
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