Adventist Health

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Adventist Health is a not-for-profit health care organization which operates facilities throughout the western U.S. states of California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. It is run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

As of 2014, the system includes 20 hospitals, with headquarters in Roseville, California.^[1]

History

Adventist Health’s heritage dates back to 1866 when the first Seventh-day Adventist health care facility opened in Battle Creek, Michigan. There, pioneers promoted the “radical” concepts of proper nutrition, exercise and sanitation in a facility devoted not just to the healing arts but also to the prevention of disease. They called it a sanitarium, a place where patients and their families could learn to be well.^[2]

More than a century after Battle Creek, the health care system sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church operates 160 hospitals and nearly 500 clinics, nursing homes and dispensaries worldwide. From Michigan to California and throughout the West, this early vision to treat the whole person—mind, body and spirit—is the foundation for their approach to health care.^[2]

Originally, Adventist hospitals were governed by regional church leadership. As health care became more complex, however, the need arose for more time and specialized expertise than church administrators could give. In the 1970s the Seventh-day Adventist Church authorized centralized control and operations of its health care institutions at the Union (multi-state) level.^[3]

One-year later, regional divisions formed corresponding to the church’s infrastructure. These divisions were known in the North Pacific Union as Northwest Medical Foundation and in the Pacific Union as Adventist Health Services. In 1980, the two western entities joined to form Adventist Health System/West, now known simply as Adventist Health.^[2]

Today, Adventist Health is a not-for-profit, faith-based health system operating in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Founded on the Seventh-day Adventist principles of Christian health care, Adventist Health comprises 20 hospitals with nearly 3,000 beds, nearly 19,000 employees, many clinics and outpatient facilities. It operates the largest system of rural health clinics in California, 15 home care agencies and three joint-venture retirement centers.^[2]

In 2009, Adventist Health secured $187 million in bond funding to pay for construction and improvements.^[4]

Organizational structure

At Adventist Health, their facilities enjoy the benefits (pooled services, purchasing and bargaining power) of belonging to a larger system. The Adventist Health corporate office takes a leadership role in this process.^[5]

Church affiliation

Adventist Health owes much of its heritage and organizational success to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is a promoter of prevention and whole-person care. Inspired by the belief in the healing power of Jesus Christ, they aim to bring physical, mental and spiritual health and healing. Every individual, regardless of his/her personal beliefs, is welcome in Adventist Health's facilities.^[6]

Stance on abortion

Since 1973, many Adventist hospitals perform elective abortions under any circumstance.^[7] Though some hospitals refrain from performing any abortions, the majority of those that do not perform elective abortions offer "therapeutic" abortions under "extreme circumstances".^[8] Since the Seventh-Day Adventist Church does not officially take a strong stance against abortions there is wide variety of opinions on this subject within the church.^[9]

Hospitals

Adventist Health oversees the operations of 20 hospitals:

• Adventist Medical Center is a 302-bed hospital serving 900,000 residents on the east side of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. It is staffed by 505 physicians, 2,070 employees and 310 volunteers.^[10]
• Adventist Medical Center-Hanford is a 142-bed hospital in Hanford, California.
• Adventist Medical Center-Reedley is a 49-bed hospital in Reedley, California.
• Castle Medical Center is a 160-bed medical center located in Windward Oahu. It is staffed by 234 physicians, 1,053 associates and 180 volunteers.^[10]
• Central Valley General Hospital is a rural 49-bed acute-care community hospital in Hanford, California, serving 14 communities in Kings, Tulare and southern Fresno counties. It is staffed by 253 physicians, 814 employees and 88 volunteers.^[10]
• Feather River Hospital is a 101-bed acute-care hospital serving Paradise, California and its neighboring communities. It is staffed by 1,108 employees, 362 volunteers and 145 physicians.^[10]
• Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital is a rural 25-bed Critical Access Hospital located in Willits, California. It is staffed by 55 physicians, 240 employees and 27 volunteers.^[10]
• Glendale Adventist Medical Center is a 457-bed medical center providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services to a diverse community in and around Glendale, California. It is staffed by 750 physicians, 2,300 employees and 560 volunteers.^[10]
• Hanford Community Medical Center is a 64-bed acute-care community hospital serving 17 communities in Kings, Tulare and southern Fresno counties. It is staffed by 253 physicians, 904 employees and 52 volunteers.^[10]
• Lodi Memorial Hospital is a 190-bed hospital in Lodi, California.
• San Joaquin Community Hospital is a 255-bed acute-care facility serving the city of Bakersfield and outlying communities of Kern County. It is staffed by 496 affiliated physicians, 1,204 employees and 141 volunteers.^[10]
• Selma Community Hospital is a 57-bed acute-care community hospital that serves 13 communities in southern Fresno County, operating as a satellite campus of Hanford Community Medical Center. It is staffed by 253 physicians, 378 employees and 22 volunteers.^[10]
• Simi Valley Hospital is a 201-bed acute-care facility located in Ventura County, serving the communities of Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks and the West San Fernando Valley. It is staffed by 221 physicians, 812 employees and 114 volunteers.^[10]
• Sonora Regional Medical Center is a 152-bed hospital in Sonora, California that serves 86,600 residents in Calaveras, Tuolumne and portions of Mariposa counties. It is staffed by 174 physicians, 1,101 employees and 199 volunteers.^[10]
• St. Helena Hospital Clearlake is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital in Clearlake, California, serving Lake County. It is staffed by 47 full-time physicians covering 18 medical specialties, 362 employees and 40 volunteers.^[10]
• St. Helena Hospital is the longest continually operating Adventist hospital, serving Napa, Lake, Sonoma and Solano counties. It is staffed by 128 physicians representing 44 specialties, 1,000 employees and 130 volunteers.^[10]
• Tillamook Regional Medical Center is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital located in Tillamook, a rural community on the Northern Oregon coast. It is staffed by 93 physicians, 327 employees and 107 volunteers.^[10]
• Ukiah Valley Medical Center is a 78-bed acute-care hospital serving 113,000 people in Mendocino and Lake counties. It is staffed by 100 doctors, 645 employees and 60 volunteers.^[10]
• Walla Walla General Hospital is a 72-bed acute-care hospital located at the base of the Blue Mountains serving approximately 70,000 residents of Southeastern Washington and Northeastern Oregon. It is staffed by 120 physicians, 408 employees and 100 volunteers.^[10]
• White Memorial Medical Center is a full-service 354 staffed-bed, teaching hospital in Los Angeles, California. It is staffed by 433 physicians, 1,504 employees, 137 medical residents and 200 volunteers.^[10]

See also

• Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Seventh-day Adventist theology
• History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Adventist HealthCare
• Adventist Health International
• Adventist Health System
• List of Seventh-day Adventist hospitals
• List of Seventh-day Adventist medical schools
• List of Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools
• List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities

References

External links

• Official website