A Christmas Eve train wreck in 1899 laid the groundwork for what is today Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. Following the train wreck the early Pomona Valley residents acknowledged the need for a local hospital and made the commitment toward insuring the well-being of the local community.

Forged out of a partnership with concerned citizens become Pomona's first hospital in 1903, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) today continues to lead the way to meet the present and future health care needs of the community which gave it birth.

Initially the Hospital was located in a two-and-a-half story frame house built on Piedmont (now Kingsley) and Garey Avenues. A group of townspeople led by Eliza B. Bradbury (later formally organized as the Pomona Valley Hospital Association), opened the tiny, 12- bed Pomona Valley Hospital but was soon overwhelmed by the medical needs of the area's rapidly growing population. Its existence had already attracted 19 new physicians to the Pomona Valley, generating both a heavy patient load and a demand for more trained nurses. Consequently, in 1905 the fledgling hospital opened its Nurses Training School and in 1912 broke ground for a new 40-bed facility on five lots that would in time contain the central hospital complex.

It was a close call: just days after the groundbreaking, the original frame house Hospital burned down, but all patients were safely removed and placed in temporary quarters nearby. Three years later, the new hospital was opened. Although it would confront many serious obstacles for several years--including losing the nurses' school during the Depression - the Hospital's loyal and generous cadre of community leaders, including the Auxiliary which was founded in 1937, invariably assured its survival.

Under the guidance of Russell K. Pitzer, a local philanthropist, the facility was reorganized from a stock company to a nonprofit operation in 1924 and renamed Pomona Valley Community Hospital. Over the next several decades, the hospital grew and flourished, adding buildings, new services, departments and state-of-the-art equipment until, in the 1980's, it had evolved into a regional medical center.

Completed and in use since 1989 is Pomona Valley Medical Plaza, A striking, three-story, 40,000 square-foot complex on a 6.4 acre site adjacent to the Hospital campus. It houses the offices of physicians, representing more than 10 medical and surgical specialties, and a pharmacy.

Continually growing to meet the needs of the community, since its opening PVHMC has added numerous other services and major facilities. Included in those are PVHMC's three Centers of Excellence: the Stead Heart Center, opening in 1986, which performs more than 1,000 open heart surgeries and catheterizations annually and has been hailed for its remarkably low morbidity and mortality rates; The Women's Center, opening in 1992, offers a full-range of family birth services including single room maternity care, a Perinatal Center, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit; and the addition of The Robert and Beverly Lewis Family Cancer Care Center in 1993 as the only free-standing outpatient cancer care center in the Inland Empire. In addition to the notable Centers of Excellence, PVHMC offers it's surrounding communities several specialized services including: the Regional Kidney Store Center, Southern California's first freestanding outpatient facility for non-invasive, lithotrpsy treatment; a Sports Medicine Center; the Sleep Disorders Center; and, an Urgent Care Center featuring a state-of-the-art Open MRI. Most recently PVHMC added a Family Practice Residency Program; the addition of this program positions PVHMC as a teaching facility. At the heart of PVHMC's Family Practice Residency Program is the Family Health Center, where resident physicians learn the specialty of family practice in a private practice setting for families and individuals.

While providing the surrounding community with access to state-of-the-art technology, access to valuable wellness education programs also plays an active role in helping individuals maintain a healthy lifestyle. To this end, PVHMC offers numerous education programs and support groups to meet the diverse healthcare needs of patients and their families.

Richard E. Yochum, PVHMC's president/CEO, states that: "As we enter the new century, residents can rest assured that Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center will be there to meet the ever-changing needs of our patients. Not only are we prepared to offer our residents with the up-to-date medical technology but also provide a staff of healthcare professionals dedicated to meeting their needs. In an industry that is constantly changing, PVHMC has been able to consistently maintain a high level of quality care...a commitment we are prepared to insure well into the next century."

The partnership between community and hospital that began so long ago has come full circle as once more we link arms toward a healthy future.