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2 Living Well
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Simi Valley Hospital
It’s who we are
SIMI VALLEY HOSPITAL CARRIES ON A 150-YEAR
LEGACY OF WELLNESS AND DISEASE PREVENTION
WHEN YOU
think about a hospital, you likely view it from the per-
spective of a place to go when you’re sick or injured—or a place to have
a baby, an operation or an X-ray.
While it’s true that Simi Valley Hospital does
all of those things and more, there’s another
very important aspect to the way the hospital
works in our community. It may sound
strange from a business standpoint, but
Simi Valley Hospital is deeply committed
to keeping people from having to
come to the hospital in the first place.
Not the good old days
The hospital’s focus on preventive
health and wellness has deep roots.
As an Adventist Health organization,
Simi Valley Hospital was founded on
the health principles of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church and its founder, Ellen G.
White, which include plant-based nutrition,
regular exercise, clean water, fresh air and
other natural restoratives.
These principles may seem obvious to
us today; their value has been proven over
and over by scientific studies. But when the
founders of the Adventist Church first proposed
them 150 years ago, they were nothing short
of revolutionary.
In the late 1800s, hospitals often sequestered the
ill for weeks or months in stuffy, germ-laden rooms.
Tobacco smoke was sometimes prescribed to treat lung
conditions. One medical “expert” even believed that
bathing caused disease.
At that time, doctors frequently received degrees
from questionable medical schools after nine months
or less of study. Druggists—with absolutely no medical
oversight—diagnosed illness and concocted cures
from an unregulated supply of materials.
Making it better
In 1866, a group of Adventists opened the Western
Health Reform Institute of Battle Creek as a model of
Ellen White’s health care philosophy. Later renamed
the Battle Creek Sanitarium, the facility’s most well-
known leaders were Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his
brother, W.K. Kellogg, whose invention of a tasty and
nutritious breakfast cereal provided a healthier alter-
native to the popular meat- and fat-based breakfasts
of the era and launched the Kellogg’s brand.
Looking back
with gratitude,
forward with
anticipation
Caroline Esparza,
Interim President and CEO
When a group of local
residents, led by physician J.O. Jones,
conceived the plan to build
Simi
Valley Hospital
, they did so out of a
strong desire to provide high-quality,
accessible health care right in their
own community.
That was in the early 1960s, and
from that time till now, our hospital
and our community have been
inseparably linked. There could not
be a Simi Valley Hospital without
the support of our community, and
for that, we are incredibly grateful.
In return, Simi Valley Hospital has
a deep commitment to serve our
community, not just within the walls
of the hospital but in places that are
most convenient for the people we
care for.
As we celebrate 50 years of
service, we also celebrate our deeper
history as an Adventist Health orga-
nization, a health care tradition that
was already a century old when Simi
Valley Hospital opened for business.
From that tradition we get our focus
on preventive health and wellness
and our philosophy of whole-person
care—body, mind and spirit.
In 2015, we’re looking back at our
history in this community, but we’re
also looking forward to a future in
which Simi Valley Hospital continues
to grow—in both services and
facilities—in order to serve our
community for the next 50 years
and beyond.
LIVING WELL is published as a community service for the friends
and patrons of SIMI VALLEY HOSPITAL, 2975 N. Sycamore
Drive, Simi Valley, CA 93065, telephone:
805-955-6000
,
website:
SimiValleyHospital.com
.
Information in LIVING WELL comes from a wide range of medical
experts. If you have any concerns or questions about specific content
that may affect your health, please contact your health care provider.
Models may be used in photos and illustrations.
Copyright © 2015 Coffey Communications CMM31181
Caroline Esparza
Interim President
and CEO
George Dichter, MD
Chief of Staff
Steve Sojka
Director, Marketing
and Communication
Steve Willis
Editor