Kaiser Permanente Antelope Valley celebrated the grand opening of the newly expanded 10,500-square-foot Obstetrics/Gynecology department today. The new building is on the campus of Antelope Valley Hospital. Kaiser is renting one floor of a medical office building owned by Antelope Valley Hospital. The new location includes 15 provider offices, 18 exam rooms, two procedure rooms, and a Perinatology suite for patients who are experiencing high-risk pregnancies. The grand opening celebration, attended by community and government leaders, included tours of the new building and a brief program with presentations by local Kaiser Permanente leadership. With more than 100 physicians and 700 employees serving more than 100,000 patients in the area, the Ob/Gyn departments in Palmdale and Lancaster were consolidated into one location to best meet the needs of the growing population. “We are so excited to be here,” said Michael J. Hakakha, MD, chief of service, Ob/Gyn department. “This is an ideal location, as we are right next to the Women and Infants Pavilion where 99 percent of our babies are born.” Also in attendance was Antelope Valley Hospital Chief Executive Officer Edward Mirzabegian. “Antelope Valley Hospital has enjoyed working with Kaiser Permanente for many years, and we are grateful they chose the Antelope Valley Hospital campus for their new Ob/Gyn offices,” Mirzabegian said. Antelope Valley’s Women and Infants Pavilion delivers between 2,000 and 3,000 babies for Kaiser patients so the location of the office building on the Antelope Valley campus made sense for Kaiser, which only has a clinic in the area. Antelope Valley delivers about 7,000 babies a year. “Kaiser is both a competitor and one of our best partners,” Mirzabegian said of the relationship with Kaiser Permanente. The new office opened for patients on Dec. 14, 2011 and is located at 44105 15th Street West in Lancaster on the fourth floor of the Antelope Valley Outpatient Imaging Center building. Kaiser Permanente, with 3.3 million members in Southern California, has more than 100,000 members in the Antelope Valley region.