Photos from the Vault

Sierra Vista Hospital turns 50

Sierra Vista Hospital in 1959 image provided by the hospital

December 5, 1959

Fifty years ago today the front page of Telegram-Tribune contained 16 headlined stories and three photos. The story that would have the longest term impact on the literal health of the county ran at the bottom of the page.

A new institution was about to be born. Congratulations doctors, it’s a hospital. Sierra Vista opened on the oddly chosen date of December 7. The contractor was ahead of schedule and so why wait. Since the T-T was an afternoon paper without a Sunday edition at the time, they published  story two days in advance to let folks know what was coming.

The 53 bed facility cost $600,000 to build, according to the article, and it contained state of the art equipment. The single story starfish shape would never be proposed today, land is too expensive but it was a trendy “European” design style at the time, Cal Poly built the “Spider” shaped science building about the same era. Later additions have taken a more compact multi-story form.

Floors were designed without corners to aid cleaning and the building had a still new feature, air conditioning, throughout the building.

Check out the state of the art hand drawn graphic the newspaper created on page 4 to explain where the hospital was located and how to get to it.

A news release from Ron Yukelson at the hospital says today the facility has 164 beds and nearly 800 employees.

Seven of the founding 21 doctors still live in the area and have been invited to attend an anniversary celebration Sunday December 6 from 1-3 p.m. in the hospital’s auditorium. Former Sierra Vista babies interested in attending should RSVP at (800) 483-6387.  Word on the street is the auditorium used to be the maternity ward in the original facility. Wondered why that room looked strangely familiar.

Two other hospitals (French and Mountain View) bought an ad congratulating the owners of the new facility. Dr. Edison French would buy Mountian View at some point and combine operations with his eponymous hospital.
Sierra Vista is Spanish for mountain view, it was the name that the partners agreed on according to Dr. Anthony Keese quoted in a history website by Lynne Landwehr.

A timeline provided by the hospital follows:

SIERRA VISTA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

Facility History
•    Dec. 7, 1959 – 21 local physicians opened a 53 bed facility; Cost $500,000
•    1961 – Bed capacity increased to 74
•    1964 – Bed capacity increased to 93
•    July, 1968 – American Medical International purchased Sierra Vista from physicians
•    1970 – First ICU/CCU on Central Coast opened
•    1972 – Three story tower completed – increased to 172 beds
•    Jan, 1984 – Selma Carlson Diagnostic Center opened
•    1985 – New Emergency Department expansion opened
•    June, 1986 – Level II NICU opened – increasing capacity to 178
•    Aug, 1991 – 14 bed acute Rehab Center opened
•    1993 – Rehab Center expanded to 31 beds, 195 total beds
•    Mar, 1995 – Acquired by National Medical Enterprises, later to be renamed Tenet Healthcare Corporation
•    June, 2002 – 6 bed Cardiac Surgery Unit opened
•    Feb, 2003 – Opened Acute Heart Unit
•    Dec, 2003 – Closed Rehab Center
•    Dec. 2008 – Additional 6 NICU beds
•    Dec. 2008 – Completed parking structure
•    Current Capacity 164 licensed beds

Major Services
•    Orthopedic Surgery
•    Neurosurgery
•    Neurosciences
•    General Surgery
•    Obstetrics
•    Neonatology
•    Cardiac Services
•    Critical Care

Progress – Over the years, Sierra Vista has expanded:
•    From 53 to 164 beds
•    From 65 to over 700 employees
•    From 32 to over 300 physicians