St. Mary’s rich history reflects the strength and inspiration of the Sisters of Charity of the IncarnateWord-Houston, who established the first Catholic hospital South of Los Angeles in 1923. The hospital had 70 beds with an emergency room, laboratory, pharmacy, and operating room.
About Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center
Founded as a faith-based hospital in 1923 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word- Houston, Dignity Health-St. Mary Medical Center is a 360-bed, acute care, nonprofit hospital located in Long Beach, California. The hospital offers a full complement of services, including a Level II trauma center, cardiac & vascular center, Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, surgical weight loss, maternity and the CARE Center, which is a recognized PrEP center of excellence.
PRESS RELEASE
Long Beach, California – Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center is proud to announce its centennial celebration, marking 100 years of providing quality medical services to the Greater Long Beach communities. For the past century, St. Mary’s has been a trusted hospital committed to meeting the healthcare needs of the community. Our dedicated caregivers continue to provide local expert primary, preventive, emergency, and specialty care services.
The Sisters’ dedication shone in 1933, when an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 shook Long Beach, destroying thehospital, convent, and chapel. Knowing of its vital importance to the community, the Sisters rebuilt the hospital with help from William Reid, the chairman of Hancock Oil.
The new hospital opened in 1937 and expanded to include many of the services that exist today. In 1949, the addition of theNorth Wing, more than doubled hospital capacity from 100 beds to a 253 bed capacity. Then in 1974, the Bauer Tower opened with all private patient rooms, a larger emergency department, new intensive care unit and heart care unit, and maternal child health services.
In 1986, the Sisters opened the CARE Center, the nation’s first managed care network for persons living with HIV and AIDS.The hospital continues to grow with a full continuum of care that meets the preventive, curative, supportive and rehabilitative needs of the city’s diverse population.
Today, St. Mary’s remains a world class medical center at the forefront of health care advancements, from pioneering medical breakthroughs to implementing cutting-edge technologies. It is now a 360-bed nonprofit hospital offering a full-continuum of acute hospital care services, including a Level II Trauma program, Surgical Weight Loss program, androbotic surgery.
