Loma Linda University Health broke ground on its new San Bernardino Campus, at 250 South G Street, San Bernardino last week. The site is adjacent to San Manuel Stadium, where the San Bernardino Sixty-Sixers play baseball, and next to Interstate 215.
Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health, said that the project will help support the San Bernardino economy and promote health and wholeness in the community for years to come.
“Studies of the infrastructure of San Bernardino have found that there are two large unmet needs in this community,” Hart said. “The first is a lack of skilled workers. The second is a lack of quality health care. Our new project will shore up both of those sectors of the economy by providing career education and health care for area residents as well as creating employment opportunities.”
Also announced at the groundbreaking ceremony was a $10 million gift from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The gift will go toward creation of San Manuel Gateway College, a joint educational effort between Loma Linda University Health and local organizations, including the San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD), City of San Bernardino, County of San Bernardino, the San Bernardino Community College District, LLUH’s Social Action Community Health System (SACHS) and several area non-profits.
High School students and graduates from the city’s school system will study entry-level medical courses at Gateway College, leading to certificates in programs like medical assistants or phlebotomy. As the students complete their classes, they will qualify for health-care careers helping people to achieve wholeness in their lives, and perhaps to look forward to furthering their medical education in the future.
In addition to San Manuel Gateway College, the project, which will be known as Loma Linda University Health – San Bernardino, will also house the expanded and relocated clinic facilities of SACHS, currently located on the property of the San Bernardino Airport on Third Street (formerly Norton AFB). Another distinctive feature of the new campus will be an elegant and healthful vegetarian restaurant with wait service, exemplifying the wholeness theme of healthful living that Loma Linda University Health represents.
The new center represents a unique partnership of local organizations eager to create a revolutionary educational opportunity in the region. The City of San Bernardino, the County of San Bernardino, the San Bernardino Community College District, the San Bernardino City Unified School District, several non-profit organizations, and SACHS are partnering with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and Loma Linda University Health in this comprehensive project.
San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis, MBA, said the new center will symbolize the city’s economic development to local residents as well as the surrounding communities and visitors who will view the new architectural display from the 215 Freeway.
“This represents a great opportunity to revitalize our downtown area,” Davis remarked. “It will also begin to change the image of San Bernardino as a result of the building that is going on. It will show that economic activity is returning. We see the collaboration and partnership as one that is very important to the rebirth of our downtown.”