July 21: This week, UCLA Health celebrates the centennial anniversary of UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center by honoring the physicians, nurses, staff and community members who have shaped its legacy of healing through collaboration, compassion and visionary thinking.
One hundred years ago, physicians William S. Mortensen and August B. Hromadka saw an opportunity to serve the burgeoning Santa Monica community with a new hospital dedicated to innovation and patient-centered care. The original hospital was three stories, contained 60 beds and featured many technological innovations.
That hospital, which officially opened on July 26, 1926, was acquired by UCLA Health in 1995 and is now known as UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center. The facility is an essential element of a leading academic health system that is among the world’s most advanced and comprehensive. UCLA Health provides leading-edge care, generates breakthrough research discoveries that lead to new treatments and trains future generations of physicians.
“Over the past three decades, UCLA Health has significantly expanded access to high-quality care for Santa Monica and nearby communities through investments in growth and innovation that have strengthened our ability to serve patients,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and CEO of the UCLA Hospital System. “Guided by a shared vision of advancing clinical outcomes through innovative programs and technology, UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center remains committed to delivering world-class care to every patient, every time.”
UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center offers a full range of clinical services and programs serving the diverse needs of the community. Among them are an orthopedic surgery program that consistently ranks among the nation’s best, the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center – including its Santa Monica offices – that has earned the highest distinction from the National Cancer Institute, and the internationally renowned Rape Treatment Center which has provided vital treatment for sexual assault victims and their families since opening its doors in 1974. Most recently, the hospital achieved the Magnet® with Distinction designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center , placing it among the first 50 hospitals worldwide to earn this recognition.
The ability to leverage medical modernization and adapt to societal change over 100 years may be one of UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center’s most remarkable successes. Few people understand the significance of this feat quite like Dr. Walid Ghurabi, medical director of the Nethercutt Emergency Center, who was chosen to serve as the grand marshal for this year’s 4th of July parade in Santa Monica in recognition of his contributions to the community.
“In the 46 years I’ve been working at our hospital in Santa Monica, thousands of lives were saved, whether heart attacks or strokes or heart rhythm disturbances,” said Ghurabi. “Our emergency center is where the ill and injured find comfort and healing every day, and I’m grateful for the mentorship I received when I first joined the hospital, which made me want to pay that back.”
For 36 years, UCLA Health hospitals have earned a place on the U.S. News & World Report national honor roll – a distinction reserved for only 20 hospitals or health systems recognized for providing the highest-quality care across multiple clinical specialties.
Though much has changed since the days when Drs. Mortensen and Hromadka made their vision a reality, UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center remains committed to its patients, the community and to staying ahead of the curve.