Southern California Hospital Heart Institute

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. Late one night, a delivery driver pulled up to the hospital's loading dock with an urgent package. As he unloaded it, he noticed something odd: the heart monitor in the nearby room seemed to be picking up strange signals—like someone was having a very restless sleep. Curious, the driver peeked inside and saw an old man snoring so loudly that his chest moved like a jackhammer. The heart monitor just followed along, thinking it was part of some wild dream. Relieved, the delivery guy quietly left, shaking his head and muttering, 'Next time I'll deliver pizzas instead.'

2. Late one night, a delivery driver pulled up to the hospital’s loading dock with a mysterious box. As he unloaded it, a soft humming sound filled the air—eerie yet comforting, like an old lullaby. Curious, the delivery driver opened the box and found only a small, glowing heart-shaped pendent. He shrugged, pocketed it, and went home. The next morning, his coworkers teased him relentlessly about finding ‘the hospital’s secret good-luck charm.’

3. Late one night, as the neon lights of the hospital glowed eerily in the fog, a delivery driver pulled up to the hospital’s loading dock with an urgent package. The guard waved him through, but something seemed off—an old man in a wheelchair appeared out of nowhere and motioned for him to stop. The old man whispered, ‘Just deliver it to room 314.’ Then he disappeared into thin air. Confused, the driver found Room 314, knocked gently—and heard someone inside say, “Hey, that’s my lunch!”

4. Late one night, a delivery driver pulled up to the hospital’s loading dock with a crate marked ‘Heart Valve Replacement Parts.’ As he unloaded it, a curious nurse asked, ‘Did you know that if you say “heart” three times while carrying these parts, they’ll start beeping?’ The delivery driver shrugged and said, 'I guess I’ll try it!' He muttered ‘heart… heart… heart’ under his breath as he carried the crate inside. Sure enough, the parts started beeping like mad. Everyone burst out laughing—even the usually serious surgeons cracked smiles. From then on, whenever someone delivered those parts, everyone would whisper, ‘Say it three times!’ It became part of their little hospital tradition.