Loma Linda University Medical Center
Encyclopedia
Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) is a teaching hospital on the campus of Loma Linda University
in Loma Linda
, California
, United States
. The medical center serves as a level I trauma center for San Bernardino County and the rest of the Inland Empire
. It is one of two closest trauma centers for those who have accidents on I-15 or I-40. UMC
in Las Vegas, Nevada
is the other closest trauma center. The hospital has two helipad
s for use by an air ambulance
or other helicopter
medical transport. However, personal use of the helipad by employees of the hospital or any of the other LLUAHSC
entities is not allowed.
The main tower of the center was built in 1967 and is 11-stories high. It is one of the tallest buildings in the Inland Empire
. Because of its height and white coloration, it is possible to view the main hospital building from various locations around the San Bernardino valley
and mountains
. The hospital is currently undergoing a seismic upgrade project.
Loma Linda University Medical Center made international news on October 26, 1984, when Dr. Leonard L Bailey transplanted a baboon heart into Baby Fae
, an infant born with a severe heart defect known as left hypoplastic heart. Unfortunately, Baby Fae died a few weeks later. However, this effort led to the successful infant heart transplant program, with transplantation of human-to-human infant transplants.LLUMC is home to the Venom E.R., which specializes in snake bites.
treatments for prostate
, lung, brain and other types of cancers. This center is the nation's first hospital-based proton treatment center. Since its opening in 1990 over 14,500 patients have been treated. Through a multidisciplinary approach, teams of experts including radiation oncologists, nurses, technicians and staff treat patients with care to ensure they experience fewer side effects and better outcomes with the power and precision of proton therapy.
Proton radiation treatment differs from standard radiation therapy. If given in sufficient doses, conventional radiation therapy techniques will control many cancers. Because of the physician's inability to adequately conform the (conventional) irradiation pattern to the cancer, healthy tissues may be damaged with radiation. Consequently, a less-than-desired dose frequently is used to reduce damage to healthy tissues and avoid subsequent unacceptable side effects. The characteristics of proton beam therapy enable the physician to deliver full or higher doses while sparing surrounding healthy tissues and organs. Proton treatment is notably valuable for treating localized, isolated, solid tumors before they spread to other tissues and to the rest of the body.
Using high-energy protons for medical treatment was first proposed in 1946. Protons were first used to treat patients with certain cancers less than 10 years later. Research and laboratory applications increased rapidly in the next three decades. It was not until the opening of the James M. Slater Proton Treatment and Research Center at Loma Linda University Medical Center in 1990, however, that the full benefits of proton treatment could be offered to patients with a wide variety of cancers.
The synchrotron
was invented in the 1950s to produce higher-energy particles for studying subnuclear matter. Much of that work was done at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab
). Fermilab physicists and engineers built the proton accelerator that exists at Loma Linda University Medical Center today. LLUMC's accelerator is the world's smallest variable-energy proton synchrotron. It is designed to deliver a beam of energy sufficient to reach the deepest tumors in patients.
of New York, NY. The project includes reinforcing the main building to bring it up to more modern standards.
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University is a Seventh-day Adventist coeducational health sciences university located in Loma Linda, California, United States. The University comprises eight schools and the Faculty of Graduate Studies...
in Loma Linda
Loma Linda, California
Loma Linda is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 23,261 at the 2010 census, up from 18,681 at the 2000 census...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The medical center serves as a level I trauma center for San Bernardino County and the rest of the Inland Empire
Inland Empire (California)
The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...
. It is one of two closest trauma centers for those who have accidents on I-15 or I-40. UMC
University Medical Center, Las Vegas
-Notable individuals treated :*On September 13, 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur died from respiratory failure and cardiac arrest, after having been in critical condition for six days....
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
is the other closest trauma center. The hospital has two helipad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
s for use by an air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
or other helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
medical transport. However, personal use of the helipad by employees of the hospital or any of the other LLUAHSC
LLUAHSC
Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center is the umbrella organization that includes Loma Linda University and all associated entities including all the schools and the Loma Linda University Medical Center and its entities....
entities is not allowed.
The main tower of the center was built in 1967 and is 11-stories high. It is one of the tallest buildings in the Inland Empire
Inland Empire (California)
The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...
. Because of its height and white coloration, it is possible to view the main hospital building from various locations around the San Bernardino valley
San Bernardino Valley
The San Bernardino Valley is a valley in Southern California. It lies at the south base of the Transverse Ranges. It is bordered on the north by the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and San Bernardino Mountains, on the east by the San Jacinto Mountains, and on the south and west by the Santa Ana...
and mountains
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
. The hospital is currently undergoing a seismic upgrade project.
Loma Linda University Medical Center made international news on October 26, 1984, when Dr. Leonard L Bailey transplanted a baboon heart into Baby Fae
Baby Fae
Stephanie Fae Beauclair , better known as Baby Fae, was an American infant born in 1984 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. She became the first infant subject of a xenotransplant procedure, receiving the heart of a baboon. The procedure, performed by Leonard L...
, an infant born with a severe heart defect known as left hypoplastic heart. Unfortunately, Baby Fae died a few weeks later. However, this effort led to the successful infant heart transplant program, with transplantation of human-to-human infant transplants.LLUMC is home to the Venom E.R., which specializes in snake bites.
Loma Linda University Children's Hospital
Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital is the sole children’s hospital for almost 1.3 million of California’s youth (San Bernardino, Riverside, Inyo,and Mono Counties). With over 275 beds just for kids, the American Board of Surgeons has designated Children’s Hospital as a Level 1 Trauma Center, providing the highest level of trauma care within the Inland Empire four-county area. Each year, more than 15,000 children stay at the hospital and over 130,000 children visit the hospital for ambulatory care. The only medical facility in the Inland Empire specializing in the care of children, Children’s Hospital transports over 1,100 critically ill or injured children each year from surrounding hospitals.Loma Linda University
LLUMC is affiliated with Loma Linda University, which includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, allied health, religion, public health, and science and technology.The James M. Slater Proton Treatment and Research Center
The James M. Slater Proton Treatment and Research Center at Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) offers proton therapyProton therapy
Proton therapy is a type of particle therapy which uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often in the treatment of cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy is the ability to more precisely localize the radiation dosage when compared with other types of external beam...
treatments for prostate
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
, lung, brain and other types of cancers. This center is the nation's first hospital-based proton treatment center. Since its opening in 1990 over 14,500 patients have been treated. Through a multidisciplinary approach, teams of experts including radiation oncologists, nurses, technicians and staff treat patients with care to ensure they experience fewer side effects and better outcomes with the power and precision of proton therapy.
Proton radiation treatment differs from standard radiation therapy. If given in sufficient doses, conventional radiation therapy techniques will control many cancers. Because of the physician's inability to adequately conform the (conventional) irradiation pattern to the cancer, healthy tissues may be damaged with radiation. Consequently, a less-than-desired dose frequently is used to reduce damage to healthy tissues and avoid subsequent unacceptable side effects. The characteristics of proton beam therapy enable the physician to deliver full or higher doses while sparing surrounding healthy tissues and organs. Proton treatment is notably valuable for treating localized, isolated, solid tumors before they spread to other tissues and to the rest of the body.
Using high-energy protons for medical treatment was first proposed in 1946. Protons were first used to treat patients with certain cancers less than 10 years later. Research and laboratory applications increased rapidly in the next three decades. It was not until the opening of the James M. Slater Proton Treatment and Research Center at Loma Linda University Medical Center in 1990, however, that the full benefits of proton treatment could be offered to patients with a wide variety of cancers.
The synchrotron
Synchrotron
A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
was invented in the 1950s to produce higher-energy particles for studying subnuclear matter. Much of that work was done at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
). Fermilab physicists and engineers built the proton accelerator that exists at Loma Linda University Medical Center today. LLUMC's accelerator is the world's smallest variable-energy proton synchrotron. It is designed to deliver a beam of energy sufficient to reach the deepest tumors in patients.
Heart & Surgical Hospital
In May 2008, it was announced that LLUMC had been in talks since December and had finalized a buyout of the 28-bed California Heart and Surgical Center (CHSC) located approximately two miles east of the main campus on the border of Loma Linda and Redlands, CA. This was a marked departure of their previous position of opposition to the facility when it was first proposed in 2005. The CHSC would have been a for-profit facility while the LLUMC is a non-profit facility and it was feared by area hospitals, including Loma Linda, that the CHSC would take all the paying patients. However, Loma Linda finalized the construction and furnishing of the center and in January 2009, they received state approval to open and begin operations at the Heart & Surgical Hospital. The daVinci Robot that was operated at the Medical Center to perform minimally invasive robotic surgeries was moved to the Surgical Hospital. There are also plans to install a second.Seismic Upgrade Project
The main hospital building is currently undergoing a seismic upgrade project. It is being headed by Turner Construction CompanyTurner Construction
Turner Construction Company is one of the largest construction management companies in the United States with a construction volume of $8 billion in 2010. It is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF Germany.-The early years:...
of New York, NY. The project includes reinforcing the main building to bring it up to more modern standards.
See also
- Loma Linda UniversityLoma Linda UniversityLoma Linda University is a Seventh-day Adventist coeducational health sciences university located in Loma Linda, California, United States. The University comprises eight schools and the Faculty of Graduate Studies...
- Adventist Health SystemAdventist Health SystemThe Adventist Health System is a non-profit health care organisation which operates facilities within the Southern and Midwestern regions of the United States...
- List of Seventh-day Adventist hospitals
- List of Seventh-day Adventist medical schools
- List of Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools
- List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities
- List of tallest buildings in Inland Empire