Loma Linda University Chapel and Hospital

Since 1905, the dedication of those who promoted healthy living and provided whole person care for the community has shaped and sustained one of the leading health sciences educational organizations and hospitals in the nation. Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) proudly celebrated its 120-year anniversary in 2025. From humble beginnings, Loma Linda University Health now employs 18,000 people and has grown to be a leader in research and life-saving medicine.

The property where Loma Linda University Health now stands was first developed as the plush Mound City Hotel during the 1887-1888 boom days. Following the 1890 depression, the hotel complex failed. A group of investors bought the failed property, investing $155,000 in hopes of making it one of the finest health resorts in Southern California. This effort also failed.

It was the kind of place that aroused enthusiasm. When Seventh-day Adventist Church co-founder Ellen G. White first visited Loma Linda, she was enchanted by its charms, describing it as "the most desirable place I have ever seen for a sanitarium."

Through divine providence, the property came to the attention of John Burden, one of the founders of Loma Linda University Health. The asking price of $110,000 was prohibitive for the fledgling Seventh-day Adventist Church. The price continued to drop, however, until the owners ordered the property to be sold for $40,000. With private funds, John Burden and others obtained an option on the property and paid off the note. It then discounted to $38,900 before the end of the year.

On August 26, 1905, Loma Linda Sanitarium was incorporated; six weeks later, on October 13, the first two patients were admitted. Loma Linda was officially open!  

A National Leader in Healthcare

The original sanitarium on the hill served as a medical center until a newer, 11-story medical center opened in 1967. In 1982, the Loma Linda Community Hospital was purchased, and it is now Loma Linda University Health’s East Campus Hospital. The organization expanded even further in subsequent decades:  

LLUH operates some of the largest clinical programs in the United States in areas such as neonatal care and outpatient surgery and is recognized as the international leader in infant heart transplantation and proton treatment for cancer. Each year, the organization admits more than 58,000 inpatients and serves nearly 1.1 million outpatients. As the only tertiary-care hospital in the area, Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) is the only Level I regional trauma center for Inyo, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.

In 2010, Loma Linda University Health developed what is now Loma Linda University Medical Center–Murrieta, serving southwest Riverside County.

In 2021, LLUH opened the Troesh Medical Campus, which included the new, 16-story Medical Center and a Children’s Hospital extension. The impressive structure changed Loma Linda’s skyline and opened up additional capacity to serve the region’s healthcare needs.

A Pioneering Health Sciences University

In December, 1905, the organization accepted its first nursing students, and on July 10, 1907, the first Loma Linda nurse commencement was held. Its medical school opened in 1909. Today, LLUH has eight schools and more than 4,000 students. More than 100 programs and certificates are offered across those schools. Students from scores of countries around the world and virtually every state in the nation are represented in Loma Linda University's student body.

The year 2009 saw the opening of the Centennial Complex, a more than 150,000-square-foot facility and the first new classroom building to be built on campus in 30 years.  

Through providence, Loma Linda University Health has truly grown and prospered beyond the early leaders' expectations. It has emerged into a health sciences university and medical center internationally known for advanced technology, service-oriented medical care, and education.

Advancing Global Health with Innovative Treatment, Education, and Faith-Based Care

In the early 1970s, Loma Linda University Health surgeons traveled to perform open-heart surgeries around the world, many times performing the first such operations in a nation. This legacy lives on with the Loma Linda University Health International Heart Institute.  

LLUH was the focus of international media attention in 1984 as Dr. Leonard Bailey performed the world’s first infant heart transplantation. Loma Linda University Health unveiled its Proton Therapy Treatment & Research Center in 1990, the first hospital-based proton accelerator for cancer treatment. And in 2025, Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital performed the first pediatric partial heart transplant in Southern California.

Today Loma Linda University Health operates six hospitals and eight schools, including the Schools of Allied Health Professions, Behavioral Health, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, and Religion. Since 2016, LLU also operates the San Manuel Gateway College, a school providing job entry skills to high school graduates in San Bernardino.

LLUH has also partnered with members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to produce the Adventist Health Studies. These landmark studies look at the habits of tens of thousands of people to explore the links between lifestyle, diet and disease. Authors use information from these studies to continually publish findings in scientific journals.

Loma Linda University Health remains steadfast in serving people in the Inland Empire and throughout the world by continuing the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ.