Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) holds immense importance for the region encompassing California's 23rd Congressional District, particularly due to its role as a major healthcare provider, economic engine, and academic institution in the Inland Empire. Hence, Its funding will be a top priority for me.
Healthcare Hub and Regional Trauma Center
The Medical Center's most critical role is as the only Level I regional trauma center for a vast area including Inyo, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties—which covers over a quarter of California's landmass.
Tertiary Care: LLUMC is a large tertiary care center, meaning it provides highly specialized and advanced medical services that are not available at most local hospitals. This includes complex procedures like infant heart transplantation (where it's an international leader) and cutting-edge cancer treatment like proton therapy.
Safety Net: As one of the largest academic safety-net hospitals in the region, it ensures critical access to quality healthcare for a diverse population, including those who are most vulnerable and rely on programs like Medi-Cal.
Specialized Care: It operates several specialty facilities, including the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, the sole dedicated children's hospital for 1.2 million children in the region, providing vital care such as high-risk pregnancy and one of the largest Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs).
Economic Driver and Major Employer
LLUMC and its parent organization, Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), are among the largest employers and economic anchors in the Inland Empire.
Massive Employment: LLUH employs around 18,000 people, providing a significant number of high-wage, high-skill jobs in the district.
Regional Economic Impact: The organization is estimated to pump over $1.3 billion annually into the Inland Empire economy. This economic activity supports local businesses and contributes to regional stability.
Workforce Development: Through its health sciences university and institutions like the San Manuel Gateway College, LLUH actively invests in health career pathways and training programs. This addresses a critical need for skilled healthcare professionals and fosters upward economic mobility for local residents.
Academic and Research Institution
The importance of LLUMC is amplified by its integration with Loma Linda University, a pioneering health sciences university.
Training Future Clinicians: The university comprises eight schools (Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, etc.) and trains thousands of students, residents, and fellows each year, cultivating the next generation of healthcare leaders who often remain in the region.
Pioneering Research: The institution is internationally respected for research in areas such as nutrition, cancer treatment, heart disease, and neonatal development, drawing federal and private grant funding into the district. It also pioneered the world's first hospital-based proton accelerator for cancer treatment.
In summary, Loma Linda University Medical Center is far more than just a hospital for the 23rd Congressional District; it is an indispensable regional asset providing essential, life-saving medical care, fueling economic growth through employment and investment, and advancing health through education and research.
Loma Linda University Health (LLUH)—which includes the Medical Center—places a strong emphasis on community benefit, particularly addressing the complex health challenges in the Inland Empire.
LLUH coordinates its extensive outreach through the Institute for Community Partnerships (ICP), which focuses on addressing the social determinants of health and working with the community, not just in it.
Here are some of their key community health initiatives, categorized by focus:
Health Equity and Access to Care
SAC Health System (SACHS): LLUH is a major supporter of SACHS, a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that provides affordable, comprehensive healthcare services to uninsured and under-insured patients and families across the Inland Empire. This includes medical, dental, and behavioral health care on a sliding fee scale.
Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA): LLUH regularly conducts a rigorous CHNA to identify the most pressing health issues in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Their strategic initiatives for the coming years are centered on goals like improving access to health and wellness resources and advancing health equity.
Street Medicine: This student-run outreach group provides free transitional medical care to people experiencing homelessness in San Bernardino, meeting them where they are (in parks, shelters, etc.) to offer checkups, screenings, vaccinations, and referrals to permanent care.
Education and Workforce Development
San Manuel Gateway College: Located in downtown San Bernardino, this college offers certificate programs for entry-level medical occupations (like Certified Nursing Assistant, Medical Assistant, and Pharmacy Tech). This program helps local residents gain job-entry skills for high-demand careers, directly addressing the region's economic mobility and healthcare workforce needs.
Career Pathways Pipeline Programs:
Discovery Program and My Campus introduce underrepresented high school students to careers in health sciences through mentorship, hands-on activities, and exposure to health professionals.
Academic and Music Tutoring: Offered by the Community-Academic Partners in Service (CAPS), LLU students volunteer to provide free tutoring to local kids (ages 5-18), helping to improve educational outcomes, which are a major social determinant of health.
Wellness and Community Building
Jardín de la Salud Community Garden: Located in San Bernardino, this community garden provides organic produce for food-insecure families and empowers participants through health and nutrition education resources.
Goal 4 Health Soccer League: This program provides a safe space for youth and their families, promoting physical activity and teaching healthy living concepts in a fun, accessible way.
SHiNE (San Bernardino Healthy in Nature - Equity Program): This program is designed to empower families through access to nature and environmental justice engagement, recognizing the importance of the physical environment on health.
Project HOPE & Special Ops: These are school-based programs offering mentoring for at-risk youth, including expectant and teen parents, to improve academic success and life skills, addressing social and behavioral challenges early on.
Through these initiatives, Loma Linda University Health significantly extends its mission far beyond the hospital walls, acting as a crucial force for addressing the fundamental well-being and systemic health disparities of the Inland Empire community in the 23rd Congressional District.
The disparities are complex, stemming from Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)—the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. LLUH's strategy targets these root causes.
Here are the key health disparities LLUH is actively trying to address in the 23rd Congressional District's region:
1. High Rates of Chronic Disease
The Inland Empire has a significantly higher prevalence of major preventable chronic illnesses compared to state averages, particularly in low-income and minority communities.
Diabetes and Obesity: San Bernardino County's diabetes mortality rate is 61% higher than the state average. Overall, rates of obesity and diabetes are disproportionately high, often linked to limited access to affordable, healthy food options (food deserts) and lack of safe spaces for physical activity.
Heart Disease and Hypertension: The prevalence of high blood pressure and related heart disease is notably higher, especially in underserved populations.
2. Healthcare Access Gaps and Provider Shortages
Despite having a major medical center, the region struggles with access to routine and preventative care, particularly outside of the immediate Loma Linda area.
Primary Care Shortage: LLUH's service area has a critical shortage of primary care physicians, dental providers, and mental health professionals. Many residents live in designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs).
Geographic and Socioeconomic Barriers: For residents in remote or impoverished communities, factors like lack of reliable transportation, low health literacy, and cost of care (even with insurance) create significant barriers to utilizing LLUH's advanced services.
Mental Health Access: The need for behavioral and mental health services has soared, particularly post-pandemic, and access remains insufficient, especially in integrated primary care settings.
3. Maternal and Child Health Inequities
Disparities in health outcomes for mothers and infants are a major focus for LLUH, especially concerning racial inequities.
Maternal and Infant Mortality: Black mothers in California account for a disproportionate percentage of maternal deaths. LLUH focuses on programs to support at-risk infants and mothers, recognizing the role of structural racism in these outcomes.
Low Birth Weight and Infant Morbidity: Poor maternal health, stress, and lack of prenatal care access contribute to higher rates of complications for newborns.
4. Underlying Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
LLUH's CHNA highlights that poor health is often rooted in systemic social issues, as illustrated by the Healthy Places Index (HPI), which ranks San Bernardino County in the bottom 25th percentile statewide for health-related factors.
Food Insecurity: A significant percentage of LLUH's hospitalized patients screen positive for food insecurity. Lack of consistent access to nutritious food directly fuels the chronic disease epidemic.
Economic Instability and Education: Communities with low rates of high school graduation and high unemployment have poorer health outcomes. LLUH addresses this through its workforce development programs (like the San Manuel Gateway College) to increase economic mobility.
Housing and Safety: Unsafe neighborhoods, lack of green space, and housing instability negatively impact mental and physical health. The region has a large population experiencing homelessness, who die on average 20 years earlier than housed people.
Loma Linda University Health, through its academic mission and community programs, is uniquely positioned to gather the data and marshal the resources necessary to address these deep-seated inequities, moving beyond simply treating illness to fostering true community well-being.
Loma Linda University Health's (LLUH) Community Health Implementation Strategy (CHIS) is built on its Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and focuses on the underlying Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).
The strategy outlines four major, interconnected strategic goals for its service area, which includes the 23rd Congressional District, spanning a three-year implementation cycle (e.g., FY 2023-2025 or the upcoming FY 2026-2028).
Here are the four strategic goals and examples of how LLUH plans to achieve them:
LLUH's Four Strategic Community Health Goals
