History of Salinas Valley Memorial Health System
The 138-bed Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital opened on April 20, 1953 with
100 employees and 45 physicians. The modern facility offered medical and
surgical patient floors, pathology and radiology labs, operating rooms,
a fracture room, a physical therapy unit, and a pediatric unit with a
nursery and a "pacing room" for fathers-to-be.
The planning and fundraising efforts, however, started much earlier-around
1941, when the Salinas Community Hospital Association was formed. Bruce
Church, a successful local businessman, called on other influential citizens
including Franklin Cornell, James J. King, T.R. Merrill and Oscar Daley
to lead more than 175 civic leaders in a major fundraising effort. Church
donated the land for the hospital's Romie Lane site and nearly $300,000
was raised. The campaign was put on hold with the onset of WW II, but
it resumed fervently in 1947. That same year, the California State Legislature
passed an act allowing communities to establish taxation districts to
build hospitals and area voters approved the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital
District. Church was elected president of the District's Board of
Directors.
On the day of the dedication, March 29, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
sent a letter of congratulations to Bruce Church. In it he said, the "People
of Salinas Valley have every right to be proud of this admirable example
of local self-reliance and initiative," commenting on the fact that
no state or federal funds were used.
Founders and early administrators envisioned a hospital equipped with the
latest technology that offered citizens the opportunity to receive high-quality
health care without traveling out of the area. Their vision inspired future
administrators.
The hospital's first quarter-century was marked by significant advancements
in technology. The next 25 years would usher in a level of technology
that would have been difficult to imagine, even for the most forward-thinking
individuals. Through strong leadership, fiscal responsibility, strategic
planning and a driving commitment to the highest quality patient care,
the hospital began its transformation into the comprehensive, integrated
health care system that it is today.
