In December 1983, the emergency department at SMMC was designated as a level I trauma center for adults. This was changed to level II in 1992.[1] SMMC has partnered with California State University, Long Beach to provide the only mental health trauma recovery center in Southern California.[2] The hospital also has a heart center, orthopedic institute, cancer center and pediatrics and maternity services.
History
St. Mary's Long Beach Hospital (1928)
In 1923, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word answered the call from Rev. J.M. Hegarty, pastor at St. Anthony's, to care for the sick and poor in Long Beach, by purchasing what is now St. Mary Medical Center from Dr. T.O. Boyd.[3][4]
The building was damaged so significantly in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake that the entire building had to be razed and a new, 100-bed facility built on the site. The new hospital opened in 1937 and was financed by a Public Works Administration loan. It was designed by architect I.E. Loveless in the Art Deco style.[5]
Catholic Healthcare West (now Dignity Health) acquired St. Mary Medical Center from the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in 1996.[6]
^Cooper, Suzanne Tarbell; Thomas, John W.; Launi, J. Christopher (2006). Long Beach Art Deco. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 103. ISBN978-0-7385-4670-4.
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