3 / 8
1965
1994
In 1967, the facility was renamed Simi Valley Adventist
Hospital to emphasize its Christian heritage and to connect it
more directly with its parent denomination.
An expansion project for the hospital’s maternity unit in
1968 and 1969 prepared the organization for a population
boom as new residents poured into the recently founded city
of Simi Valley, which incorporated on October 10, 1969, and
encompassed the former towns of Simi and Santa Susana.
Significant growth and a new name
The hospital continued growing into the 1970s, adding 95 beds
in a variety of services and purchasing a former convalescent
hospital adjacent to the main campus. In 1979, the hospital
launched its Child Development Center, which continues to
provide specialized therapy services for children with physical
and cognitive challenges.
Of critical importance to the community was the
64,000-square-foot, three-story addition to the hospital’s
emergency, radiology, laboratory and surgery services in
1985. In 1987, the hospital dramatically increased its size and
scope when it became a general partner in the Aspen Surgery
Center, a full-service outpatient facility with three surgical
suites and an extensive diagnostic imaging department.
The hospital purchased the facility in 1990, and today, the
Aspen Outpatient Center continues to play a vital role in the
health of our community. Among the facility’s services was a
mammography and breast health program, which changed
its name in 1994 from Aspen Breast Center to Nancy Reagan
Breast Center in honor of the former first lady, who is a breast
cancer survivor.
Spurred by the important changes in the hospital’s services
over the previous decades, Simi Valley Adventist Hospital
changed its name to Simi Valley Hospital & Health Care
Services on March 4, 1992. The new name reflected the orga-
nization’s steady growth in both the scope and volume of its
inpatient and outpatient services. On February 24, 2003, the
hospital streamlined its name to Simi Valley Hospital.
Campus-wide renewal
A little more than a decade ago—as its 40th anniversary
approached—Simi Valley Hospital embarked on the most am-
bitious campus improvement project in its history, assisted by
Adventist Health and generous donors in the community.
Our 50th
birthday
bash
Mark your calendar for the Simi
Valley Hospital 50th Anniversary
Gala to be held on Saturday,
September 26, in the Air Force
One Pavilion of the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Library and Museum.
We’ll celebrate our 50 years of health
care service and the work we’ve
done together to make our com-
munities safer and healthier places
to live. For more information or to
learn about sponsorship opportu-
nities, call the Simi Valley Hospital
Foundation at
805-955-6670
.
Former first
lady Nancy
Reagan
attended the
grand opening
of the Nancy
Reagan Breast
Center on
July 7, 1994.
Leading off the $120 million project was the construction
of a four-story Patient Care Tower. When it opened in 2008,
the $75-million facility featured private-care rooms, a state-
of-the-art Maternity Care Unit, the city’s first-ever Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and space to add more services in
the future.
Among the new services that grew out of that facility
was another first: Ventura County’s first hybrid Cardiac
Catheterization Laboratory. (See related story on page 4.)
The unique quality of this facility is its ability to be converted
quickly and immediately into a fully functional open-heart
surgery suite whenever the situation warrants.
A new main lobby building followed the construction of the
Patient Care Tower. Later, the hospital launched its $41-million
Emergency Services and Hospital Expansion Project—the first
major expansion of Emergency Services since 1985, when patient
volume was almost half of what it is today. The new facility
opened in March of this year. (See related story on page 6.)
Going places
Someone familiar with Simi Valley Hospital’s history recently
called the hospital “brand new at 50.” This is a spot-on obser-
vation as the hospital continues to develop into one of the
premier health care facilities in the region.
Today, the 144-bed Simi Valley Hospital is a certified
primary stroke center with the shortest ER wait times in the
region. Last year, The Joint Commission conferred a Top
Performer award for heart attack and pneumonia. Among its
many nationally recognized programs are the Nancy Reagan
Breast Center and Adventist Health/
Home Care Services
.
The one constant amidst a half-century of change is Simi Valley
Hospital’s tenacious commitment to the Adventist philosophy
of health and wellness, providing whole-person care for the body,
mind and spirit. It is this combination of high-quality, local
medical services and compassionate care that the founders
of Simi Valley Hospital would no doubt greet with approval.
A local
newspaper
reported the
imminent
opening of
Simi Valley
Community
Hospital in
August 1965.
Simi Valley
Community
Hospital
celebrated with
a ribbon-cutting
ceremony on
August 15, 1965.
A little more than a decade ago—as its 40th anniversary
approached—Simi Valley Hospital embarked on the
most ambitious campus improvement project in its
history, assisted by Adventist Health and generous
donors in the community.