David B. Hinshaw Sr., MD, the visionary dean who implemented the Loma Linda University School of Medicine’s consolidation in Loma Linda, provided his perspective on the institution’s heritage when he became president of Loma Linda University Medical Center. Following implementation of the infant heart-transplant program and the Proton Treatment Center, and during the building of the Children’s Hospital, he made these comments which foreshadowed the planning and implementation of the east campus hospital with its emphasis on rehabilitation: “Loma Linda is an institution of destiny, born as a result of a great vision of the future. Since its modest—yet miraculous—beginnings in 1905, it has continually been the recipient of special blessings. It was meant to be an institution of greatness, one which would have a major influence on the world. …we have inherited greater responsibilities for being of service to mankind.
“This institution should, in my view, work on the leading edge in all areas possible—the leading edge of knowledge, the leading edge of technology, and in particular, the leading edge in the application of Christian compassion to human suffering and unmet needs. In order to do this, we need to step out and be innovative. We need to take reasonable chances in appropriate directions. When there is an opportunity to find successful ways to reduce suffering, we should prayerfully carry out these mandates.”
In 1930, during the institution’s 25th anniversary celebration, Dr. Julia Ann White, Loma Linda’s “First Lady Physician,” recalled the early days of the Loma Linda Sanitarium, acknowledged the institution’s prosperity, and looked to the future: “Tonight I feel so thankful to see the developments that have come to Loma Linda, and that by the blessing of God it has prospered as it has. I trust that it will continue to prosper.”
On September 5, 1866, the first Seventh-day Adventist healthcare facility, the Western Health Reform Institute (later the Battle Creek Sanitarium) opened to the public in Battle Creek, Michigan. On September 5, 1966, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson flew to Battle Creek to participate in its centennial celebration, commemorating 100 years of service. At the end of the celebration week, on September 11, American Medical Association President Charles L. Hudson, MD, delivered a speech entitled, "Medicine and Religion, an Unbeatable Combination."
Ironically, it had been this same combination of medicine and religion that nearly prevented the founding of the College of Medical Evangelists (now Loma Linda University). The American Medical Association told the school's leaders that it was not prepared to recognize a church-operated school of medicine nor to accept noble principles of service in place of proper facilities.
Dr. B. Lyn Behrens, as president of Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, answered the question, “What makes Loma Linda unique?” “…the attention given to developing health-professionals who have the tools and skills to deliver healthcare that addresses not only the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social components of mankind,” she said, “but also the spiritual…. Our goal is both to help students develop spiritually and to deliver care that graciously ministers to people at times when they are hurt and broken…. We are committed to excellence because that is what society has a right to expect from us. This is not a state of arrival, but something that is a lifelong process of learning. In addition, we have a higher accountability than just to mankind; we must answer to God.
Dr. Behrens was asked, “How did Loma Linda dare to pioneer areas like infant heart transplants and proton therapy? What is it about Loma Linda that allowed such innovations to happen? “In reality, I believe it is our destiny,” she said. “When you look at the history of Loma Linda, you find that it is consistent with our roots—how impossibility after impossibility has been overcome, how a person with a vision was blessed by God…. The flexibility that exists within Loma Linda enables us to look at an opportunity, to ask if it meets our mission to serve the needs of the people, and then to move forward.”
In the meantime, between 1950 and 2005, the population of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties grew from 450,000 to more than four million. In 1980, the State of California designated Loma Linda University Medical Center as the only level 1, regional trauma center to serve Inyo, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Since then it has provided the highest level of care for patients living in more than one-fourth of the state. In one year, it hosted 1,627 emergency helicopter landings. Since 1909, its school of medicine has graduated more than 11,000 physicians, almost 2,000 more than any other school of medicine in the Western United States.
LLUMC’s reputation has fed its public relations activities which have enhanced its reputation. Its reputation, in turn, has motivated gifts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Reputation and opportunities to support an institution that is serving humanity around the world has turned Loma Linda University donors into philanthropists who indirectly participate in the institution’s efforts “To Make Man Whole.”
Today, Loma Linda University Health and its subsidiary corporations are living, growing testimonials to the faith and daring of Adventist pioneers throughout the institutions’ first century and beyond. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Loma Linda is a name to live up to.