History

On September 29, 1913, the College of Medical Evangelists opened a small storefront clinic at 941 East First Street, in the heart of Los Angeles. People flocked to the new clinic, and the medical school finally had the patients it needed. It was from these humble beginnings that White Memorial Medical Center was born. The drive began for a hospital to be built at a nearby site on Boyle Avenue and named in honor of Ellen G. White. 

Early financial pressures threatened to close both the medical school and the clinic, and there were no funds to build the new hospital. Adventist leaders anguished over what seemed to be an inevitable future. As they prepared for a final vote, there was a knock at the door. Four women of the church entered the room and made an extraordinary proposal: They were willing to champion a campaign to raise the $61,000 needed to construct White Memorial Hospital.

So it was on April 21, 1918, that a crowd of 2,500 people gathered to dedicate White Memorial Hospital. Not even an earthquake that struck during the ceremony could dampen the enthusiasm of those gathered to celebrate the culmination of years of grand dreams, fervent prayers, and hard work. 

In 1920, medical students exchanged physical labor for tuition as they helped to build a new dormitory for nurses. They also took on janitorial duties in the dispensary and classrooms. They even started their own cafeteria, gathering in the evenings after their studies were over to prepare food for the next day. Their cafeteria made impressive profits, which they donated to purchase sterilizers for the surgical department.

The hospital deepened its commitment to medical training with the opening of the White Memorial School of Nursing in 1923, an institution that held a prominent place in the hospital and community for years to come.

By the mid-1930s, the initial jolt of the Depression had passed, and White Memorial began looking again to the future. Responding to an ever-growing demand on its original facilities, the hospital built a 180-bed, five-story concrete and steel structure at a cost of $330,000. Dedicated in 1937, the building was the first earthquake-resistant hospital in California. 

Over the previous quarter-century, White Memorial Hospital had gone through a difficult but triumphant beginning period, weathered the Great Depression and built a facility that would accommodate the needs of a rapidly increasing population. A new decade was just around the corner, and the new hospital was ready to face it wholeheartedly. 

Today, our hospital offers Los Angeles residents an inner-city safety net medical center with a 353-bed acute care hospital, providing a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency, and diagnostic services. Embracing our legacy as a teaching hospital, we continue to pioneer physician and nurse residency programs, while we continue our dedication to the health and well-being of the communities we serve.