Barstow Community Hospital in California - United States

Barstow Community Hospital has been a success story of community commitment. Prior to Barstow Community Hospital (BCH) being built, local area patients in critical condition were treated at the Marine Base hospital, while those who were deemed able to travel were sent to hospitals more than 90 miles away in the San Bernardino area. From 1953 to 1956, the Barstow Lions Club along with the Fireman's Service Club raised funds through the Hill/Burton Act to build the hospital. Through these efforts, funds were donated by private citizens and raised through various fundraising activities until the goal was reached. Fundraisers included civic leaders going door-to-door soliciting donations, local-area waitresses donating their tips one day a week to the cause, among other fundraising activities. Other civic groups such as the Barstow Rotary Club donated the landscaping for the new hospital.
In the summer and fall of 1957, Barstow Community Hospital was both a symbol of pride and a source of embarrassment to the area. The construction of the $504,000 facility was complete and dedicated in June of 1957, however, the hospital remained vacant for more than six months because the hospital did not have enough operating money to open its doors. The hospital needed $65,000 to cover operating expenses for 90 days. This hospital saga was picked up by media nationwide, including the Los Angeles Times and Life Magazine. Funds to open BCH were not provided until local voters gave the city legal authority to run the facility in a November 26, 1957, election. In January 1958, Barstow Community Hospital, a one-story, 26-bed facility (the current 100 nursing wing), opened its doors to the community.

Besides the many building and technology upgrades, hospital management has seen several transformations since 1958 as well. The City of Barstow managed the hospital from its opening until the employee strike of 1981. The strike was the impetus for the city to seek a professional health care management contractor. Toward the end of 1981, the city hired HCA to take over management of the hospital. HCA managed the hospital until 1988, when Adventist Health Systems (the parent company of Loma Linda University Hospital) assumed the role of hospital management for five years. In 1993, Community Health Systems Inc., based in Brentwood, Tenn., signed a long-term agreement with the City of Barstow to take over the operation of the hospital. With emphasis on patient-centered care, quality improvements and increased efficiency, Community Health Systems Inc. propelled the hospital to the pinnacle of the health care industry. In 1996 and again in 1997, Barstow Community Hospital was named one of the "100 Top Hospitals in the Nation" by Modern Healthcare magazine.

Hospital services:
Anesthesiology
Cardiology
Family Practice
Gastroenterology
Gynecology
Hospitalists
Internal Medicine
Neurology
Obstetrics
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Pediatrics
Podiatry
Urology

Contact:
Barstow Community Hospital
555 South Seventh Ave.
Barstow, CA 92311 United States
Tel: (760) 256-1761
Web: http://www.barstowhospital.com