Loma Linda University Health’s iconic cloverleaf towers opened for patients in the summer of 1967. On Sunday, Aug. 27, people who were part of that significant moment will share their memories as part of a special anniversary celebration taking place in the Loma Linda University Church at 2 p.m.
“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,” said Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health.
The program will feature the memories of those who were involved as faculty and staff, the first residents to work in the new building, and the faculty children who grew up at that time. Hart, who was between his first and second year of medical school, will share his memories of transporting patients from the old hospital in what is now Nichol Hall to the new structure.
The current Medical Center building has been the site of many significant moments during the past half century, and the anniversary program will also recall those. Some are well known, such as Baby Fae’s surgery, the development of proton treatment, and separating conjoined twins. Others have been forgotten by many, including developing fetal heart monitoring, new coronary catheterization techniques and more.