Forty years ago, a country doctor and a handful of forward-thinking residents had a vision for their small towns of Simi and Santa Susana. They would create a special place of healing in the picturesque Southern California valley they called home.

In the early 1960s, John Owsley Jones, M.D., and several community members presented a proposal to the Southern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to build a health care facility to meet the needs of their growing community. The conference approved the plan, and construction of a 32,000-square-foot, 50-bed facility was soon underway. The price tag for the new hospital would reach $850,000, with a community sponsored fund-raising effort targeted to raise $300,000 of the cost.

Lorena Montgomery Paul, a local resident who was exceptionally pleased with the care Jones provided to her mother and other family members, donated property valued at $55,000 to help build the new hospital. Jones himself donated the land on which the main campus of Simi Valley Hospital currently stands.

The Dream Arises

On April 26, 1964, groundbreaking ceremonies for Simi Valley Community Hospital were held on the corner of Avenida Simi and Sycamore Drive, which remains the location of Simi Valley Hospital. And—much like today—the community was at the center of the activity. The Simi Valley High School pep band provided entertainment and the Simi Valley American Legion Post 484 conducted the flag salute.

Less than 16 months later, on Aug. 3, 1965, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of the facility. Leading the new hospital was administrator William H. Gosse, appointed by Cree Sandefur, president of the conference. Gosse came to Simi Valley from Glendale Sanitarium and Hospital, known today as Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

On opening day, Lynn Seaman was admitted for a tonsillectomy as the facility’s first patient. Eight days later, Carol Ellen Dodds became the first baby born at the hospital.

In 1967, the facility was renamed Simi Valley Adventist Hospital to emphasize its Seventh-day Adventist heritage and to connect it more directly with its parent denomination.

An expansion project for the hospital’s maternity unit in 1968 and 1969 prepared the organization for a population boom as new residents poured into the recently founded city of Simi Valley, which incorporated on Oct. 10, 1969, and encompassed the former towns of Simi and Santa Susana.

A Modern Hospital Takes Shape

Simi Valley Adventist Hospital continued to grow, adding 95 beds in a variety of services, including pediatrics, coronary care, rehabilitation, intensive care and skilled nursing care. Growth also came in the form of acquisition when the hospital purchased Simi Valley Convalescent Hospital to offer extended care services for the burgeoning community. Today, that building is known as the North Campus, where rehabilitation and subacute care services are still housed.

In 1979, the hospital launched the Child Development Center, a pediatric rehab program for infants and young children with physical and cognitive needs. The facility also expanded its service to local children with the 1981 opening of the Family Connection Child Care and Preschool Center. Family Connection offers an intellectually stimulating and fun environment for pre-school children ages two and older, as well as an after-school program for children up to 12.

Of critical importance to the community was the 64,000-square-foot, three-story addition to the hospital’s emergency, radiology, laboratory and surgery services in 1985. The community was invited to tour the $21-million building, which included a new $600,000 state-of-the-art x-ray room.

Significant Growth and a New Name

In 1987, two events again dramatically increased the size and scope of Simi Valley Adventist Hospital. The acquisition of the 72-bed Mountain View Medical Center added the South Campus to the hospital, which today houses behavioral health, education, home care services, marketing and the Simi Valley Hospital Foundation.

In addition, the hospital became a general partner in the Aspen Center, a full-service outpatient facility with three surgical suites and an extensive diagnostic imaging department. The hospital purchased the facility in 1990, and today, the Aspen Outpatient Center continues to play a vital role in the health of the community. Services also include mammography and the Nancy Reagan Breast Center, named in honor of the former First Lady, a breast cancer survivor.

Spurred by the important changes to the hospital’s services over the previous decades, Simi Valley Adventist Hospital changed its name to Simi Valley Hospital and Health Care Services in 1992. The new name reflected the organization’s steady growth in both the scope and volume of its inpatient and outpatient services. In 2003, the hospital streamlined its name to Simi Valley Hospital.

Today, the facility offers a variety of inpatient and outpatient services, including emergency, home health, adult and pediatric rehabilitation, behavioral health, surgery, mammography, gastrointestinal services, occupational medicine, radiology, subacute care, cancer services and women’s and children’s services.

Into the Future

Health care services in Simi Valley took another leap forward in December 2002 with a groundbreaking ceremony for Simi Valley Hospital’s four-story, 146,000-square-foot Patient Care Tower. Scheduled for completion in 2006, the 170-bed, $35 million tower will feature private care rooms and additional space to grow.

“The new Patient Care Tower will help centralize health care services for our growing community,” said Margaret R. Peterson, Ph.D., president and CEO of Simi Valley Hospital. “It is exciting to witness the continuous support for this project within the Simi Valley and Moorpark communities. Thanks to the commitment of our supporters, Simi Valley Hospital is in a position to continue our tradition of caring for our community for many years to come.”

In 2005, Simi Valley Hospital celebrates 40 years of making a difference in the lives of the residents of Simi Valley, Moorpark and the surrounding communities. Watch for special events and glimpses into its past throughout the celebration year.