Loma Linda University Medical Center is San Bernardino County's second-largest private employer, and it is expanding in a big way during this recessionary economy.
Among L.L.U.M.C.'s affiliates are: Loma Linda University Children's Hospital; Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus; Loma Linda University Proton Treatment Center; and, Loma Linda University clinical faculty corporations, such as Loma Linda University Health Care, Faculty Medical Group of L.L.U.S.M. and Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center. The medical center and its affiliates have embarked on an expansion program with the construction of several new hospital and medical facilities in an effort to meet the region's growing health care needs.
Loma Linda medical center officials have begun developing plans for a new children's hospital to replace the current 250-bed facility. The hospital opened in 1993 and treats more than 125,000 children annually. The institution also was expected to receive $2.8 million in federal funding for its ground-breaking space-radiation research through use of the Proton Beam Accelerator. The expected funds were part of $18.5 million in local earmarks supported by Rep. Jerry Lewis of Redlands that were included in the $410 billion recovery and reinvestment act signed by President Barack Obama on March 10.
While all this new construction means more access to health care, there is also a need for hundreds of doctors, nurses, technicians and other support staff to operate these new facilities.
Whether there are enough nurses to meet the demand is an ongoing question as California's nursing schools are understaffed and face funding reductions, which have forced them to put potential students on waiting lists.
"We need to make sure there is funding for education," said Jill Furillo, the Southern California director of the California Nurses Association. "There is not a lack of people wanting to go into nursing. There will be a problem if funding for nurse education and training is cut back in the middle of a health-industry expansion."
While government, health care, education, and transportation are serving as the foundation for the revitalization of San Bernardino's city center, the synergy between education and health care is particularly interesting since a nursing student at San Bernardino State University, for instance, could serve an internship with Loma Linda University Medical Center and reside in student housing on San Bernardino's "superuniversity" campus. San Bernardino is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for both health care and education, as well as for education in the health-care field, specifically.
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