Notes from the President — The Value of History

As I write, we have seven of our nine grandchildren here — playing, reading, occasionally helping, coming from Redlands, Denver, and Harare. I always enjoy these brief interludes when the house is full once again of children laughing and crying, creating and arguing, alliances formed and broken, making memories that will last a lifetime. I made a list to try and entice them into my to do list — lumberjack, basic and advanced, (helping me cut and haul firewood), mountaineering, basic and advanced (going on long hikes, often without trails), barn raising (extending the llama corral to cover the hay), candy making (drying apricots), and cider making (only the Gravensteins are ripe this time of year, but still good). Still haven’t got to dog whisperer (teaching the dogs how to use the new doggy door), or draining the swamp, always a favorite (draining, cleaning and patching the pond liner from the tears caused by bears climbing out after cooling off!)

I can’t help but think back to when our three daughters were that age, and our wishes and fears for their future. What kind of world will my grandkids inherit? I have no doubt there will be plenty of challenges for them to engage with, as diseases morph into new forms, conflict and refugees continue to expand, and peace and stability still elude both this country and the world. We can’t plan the future by looking in the rearview mirror, but looking back does help understand and explain who we are and where we are headed today.

And so next month we will be remembering a seminal event in the history of Loma Linda — moving into our iconic cloverleaf towers the summer of 1967 — 50 years ago. It was between my 1st and 2nd years in med school. We had watched the building being completed during the year. I got a job working for Turner Moving and Storage that summer, and we were contracted to use our moving vans to transport patients in their beds over to the new hospital. The faculty and staff who were part of that move are now fewer and fewer, so we want to recall and celebrate those memories while we can. It is also extremely important for our current faculty, employees, students, and friends to know that history, to reflect on what we all take for granted now.

On Sunday, August 27, at 2 pm in the University Church, we are going to remember, laugh, and marvel at that major change at Loma Linda. Other than the initial purchase of Loma Linda and its original buildings, there is probably no other single characteristic that has identified us more than this building. Those who were involved as faculty and staff in the move, the first residents to work there, the faculty children who grew up during that epochal time, and those with special memories will all be here to share this moment in history. Video clips will be shown from the move to amplify and perhaps correct some of those memories!

We also want to reflect on all the special stories that have taken place in this building over the past 50 years. Many of them you know — Baby Fae, Proton development, separating Siamese twins, etc., but many others have been forgotten by most of us — developing fetal heart monitoring, new coronary catheter techniques, etc. Everyone is invited for this look back at the gifts God has bestowed through Loma Linda.

Even as we look back, we are also deep into building a new medical center and expanded children’s hospital that will dominate this landscape for years to come. The foundation is in, the steel pedestals the building will sit on are arriving, and soon steel beams will start coming up out of the ground. There is no question this new building will usher Loma Linda into another epochal period of its storied history. Events and pictures will be told and shown through the coming years. But more important than the building itself will be the people and events that happen inside. Students learning new skills, residents perfecting their specialties, faculty pushing the boundaries of science, and thousands of patients blessed with a special kind of care. 

It is also time to update you on our Vision 2020 campaign. While the philanthropy goal of $360 million seemed rather preposterous when the campaign was announced in 2014, we are delighted to report that we are now less than $100 million away from reaching that goal. As of July, we were at $265.4 million! Thank you, thank you! What a blessing your support has been. And what a shout out of confidence this has given to all of us who labor on this project. This last $100 million will be the toughest part of the campaign. But, as God led in the founding of Loma Linda with answers to prayers in unexpected ways, we continue to look to Him for guidance and support as we carry out His ministry here through Vision 2020. 

Each dollar committed has been put specifically into the part of the campaign desired by the donor.  This includes the hospital portion of $225 million, including $200 million for the building and $25 million for special equipment upgrades in several areas. There is $120 million for the university and our eight schools, along with various research initiatives. We are still working towards the construction of a new research building and are hoping for a naming gift to jump start that project.  Finally, there is $10 million for the San Manuel Gateway College at the San Bernardino campus, and $15 million for our wholeness initiatives. While not a part of the original goal, we are also working on raising $6 million for our new campus in Indio providing specialized pediatric and primary care to that area.

Each of these special needs are worthy of your support. Buildings, scholarships, equipment, research and various new initiatives are being launched or enhanced every day. In the health care world, you advance or you lose. So we have collectively taken on this challenge to keep Loma Linda a special place where students aspire to study and patients come for our unique brand of care. 

Finally, we are honored that the Chronicle of Higher Education has selected Loma Linda University as one the “Great Colleges to Work For” in their July 17 issue. Only 79 institutions were chosen out of 232 colleges and universities. We believe that this honor is a tribute to our faculty’s outstanding teaching and staff’s dedicated service to our nearly 4,500 students. I am grateful for the passion, excellence, and commitment to our values each member of the University team exhibits on a daily basis. You can read more about this honor here.

Thank you for believing in this place and helping it remain what we all want it to be and more.

Sincerely yours,

Richard Hart, MD, DrPH

President

Loma Linda University Health