West Hills Hospital & Medical Center is beginning the renovation phase of a $72 million infrastructure improvement project that will include the overhaul of the hospital’s lobby, cafeterias, nursing stations and patient rooms. With the expansion phase of the project completed this year, the hospital is moving on to the $6 million renovation phase, said hospital spokeswoman Cathy Butter. It will include a new lobby with a more contemporary feel and a large circular welcome and information center. The plans also call for updated cafeterias for both staff and visitors. The visitors’ cafeteria will have more of an internet café feeling, Butter said. Families and visitors will have access to free Wi-Fi. Patient rooms will remain double, but they too will have more of a contemporary feel. The renovation follows a significant expansion project, which cost $66 million. That project included a brand new two-story, 30-bed emergency room with double the capacity of the old one. It also included an expansion of the intensive care unit, with a total of 33 beds. And it included the addition of the Grossman Burn Center, with 31 surgical care burn beds, eight intensive care beds and two hyperbaric chambers, which reduce the pressure in the room to 30 feet below sea level, which helps in the healing process. Butter said the cafeteria renovation has already begun and should be completed in February. The entire project is slated for completion in 2013. —Judy Temes