 |
| Saint John's Health Center Rendering Courtesy of Saint John's Health Center |
“When
you move to a new house you call your friends and neighbors to come see what
you’ve done. We happen to have a
lot of neighbors and we’ve invited them all, all the people of Santa Monica and
we’re going to have fun,” said Sister Maureen Craig of Saint John’s Health
Center, speaking about the Saint John's Community Open House and
Health Fair. The Open House will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2013, from
noon to 4 p.m.
John
Robertson M.D., the Medical Director of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Saint John's and
the Chair Elect of the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation Board of Trustees,
enthusiastically talked about the Open House, saying, “Visitors will be able to
tour the hospital, including the open-heart surgery and orthopedic operating
rooms, the Women’s Health Center, and the Chapel. I will be there, along with Saint John’s medical staff to
meet guests and provide information about services and departments at Saint
John’s. Special activities for
children include face painting, arts and crafts and, of course, healthy snacks.”
The 1994 earthquake that caused severe damage in
Santa Monica and in Los Angeles also severely damaged Saint John’s
Hospital. After almost 20 years of
rebuilding, using the rebuilding as an opportunity to incorporate the new
technology in health care, construction of the new hospital is complete.
The idea to build a new hospital in Santa Monica
began in 1939 when a group of Santa Monica doctors went to Kansas and asked the
Sisters Of Charity to come to Santa Monica to help start a hospital.
The nuns came and their first task was to go
door to door in the City to get the money to buy the land for the new
hospital. It was a difficult time
because of the war but the city wanted the hospital and it was built with
charitable donations.
Supplies were also hard to get and couldn’t just
be ordered. In response a group of
women in the community formed the Women’s Guild of Saint John’s. The Guild made sheets for patient beds,
curtains for the rooms and bandages for burn victims.
Saint John’s first opened its doors on October
26, 1942 with 52 beds. By 1952
they had to add another wing to the hospital. It was the end of the war and the hospital was serving a greater
number of patients and the many doctors who had come home from the war and
joined the Medical Staff at Saint John’s.
Fifty years later, as part of the Jubilee Year
Celebration in 1992, almost a thousand people attended a community open house
very much like the one planned for the celebration on October 5, 2013. Medical Staff were there to meet and
greet, to explain services and equipment, and visitors toured the hospital.
“One thing that hasn’t changed is that whenever
a baby is born we play Brahms’s lullaby on the PA. If twins are born it is played twice. People just stop wherever they are and
smile,” said Sister Maureen.
“In the early days of the hospital where was a
different relationship between doctors and patients, maybe because people had
to stay in the hospital for longer periods, maybe because people knew each
other from being part of the same community.
“The Open House is a sign that we want to continue
to make people feel welcome, at home, and that we care about our neighbors and
the City. Our mission is to make
everyone feel at home,” said Sister Maureen
In the last few years Saint John’s has also gone
through a change of ownership. The storied hospital received competing bids
from UCLA Health System, Ascension Health Alliance and Dignity Health as well
as a bid from Patrick-Soon-Shiong, a bid made with the support of the local
Archdiocese, and from Providence Health and Services.
Saint John’s now will be part of Providence
Health and Services, based in Washington, Providence Health owns other hospitals
in California, Oregon and Washington.
The CEO of Providence Health will be at the Open House to help welcome visitors
to Saint John’s.
 |
| John Robertson M.D. |
Dr. John Robertson was keen to have the Open
House and to make sure everyone felt welcome. “This is a way for Saint John’s to open our doors and invite
people to see how beautiful the new hospital is. It's a say to say thank you to the public for being there for us
through all the years of construction and all the problems that created. We are back better than ever. We’re excited about being with
the Providence Group. We are one
of the top 50 hospitals in the country and we plan on getting better every
year,” said Dr. Robertson.
 |
| Sister Maureen Craig SCL |
Underscoring Dr. Robertson’s invitation to the
community, Sister Maureen said, “Our
venue may have changed, the technology may have changed, but our values have
remained the same – great care in comfortable surroundings in a community we
love.”
Among the many reasons we have to be grateful for living in Santa Monica is the excellence of the health care in our city.
We are truly fortunate.
We are truly fortunate.
What Say You?
.
