---

Description

---

St Mary Medical Center offers a range of services from wellness and prevention programs such as diabetes education to an emergency department and heart care services including the only open heart surgery program in the High Desert

For over 50 years this High Desert hospital has grown and continues to plan for the future progressing from a small hospital in 1956 to the comprehensive 186bed medical center it is today St Mary Medical Centers dedication to serving the Victor Valley has remained intrinsic to its core values of Hospitality Dignity Justice Service and Excellence

Medical Staff

Our Medical Staff is made up of more than 150 High Desert doctors These physicians provide services in a multitude of disciplines including pediatrics oncology cardiology family medicine internal medicine obstetrics and more Physicians on staff at St Mary have offices throughout the Victor Valley and San Bernardino County

Accreditation

St Mary Medical Center is accredited by The Joint Commission the largest and oldest hospital accrediting body in the nation

St Joseph Health System

St Mary Medical Center is part of the St Joseph Health System The facilities that comprise the system offer a wide variety of services within each of three regions Northern California Southern California and West TexasEastern New Mexico

Our Mission
To extend the healing ministry of Jesus in the tradition of the Sisters of St Joseph of Orange by continually improving the health and quality of life of people in the communities we serve

Our Vision
We bring people together to provide compassionate care promote health improvement and create healthy communities

Our Values
Hospitality holds the promise of sharing the best of what we have expressed through our core values of Hospitality Dignity Justice Service and Excellence

All of us at St Mary Medical Center are committed to our core values and work to make them present in our relationships with one another and with those we are privileged to serve Our values continue a tradition of excellence and a dedication to help heal all we touch

---

History

---

The Beginning
When Newton T Bass traveled Route 66 north through the Cajon Pass in 1943 imagine his delight with the landscapes beauty Here was the Victor Valley thriving next to a gently babbling Mojave River It must have been an elixir too potent to reject A kaleidoscope of shades and colors a land ripe for harvest steeped in history and quaintnessattributes that had long been forgotten in the city where he lived

When Bass turned on Highway 18 to make his ascent through the Mojave Narrows he must have marveled at the handsome rock formations he must have chuckled at the sight of tangerine and lemoncolored leaves It was here as he descended the Narrows to the vast valley opening at his feet that Bass witnessed a jubilant sun drenching the desert floor with its warm embrace

Was he ready to return to his life as an oil baron in suburban Long Beach or would he shed that hectic pace and become hungry to embrace the peaceful and enchanting beauty that lay before him His feelings were not unusual This land had intoxicated several before him

1946
It was in 1946 that Bass moved his family to the area permanently After opening a real estate company with his partner B J Bud Westlund the pair bought more than 22000 acres of land and began to carefully construct a town They aimed to offer city slickers the opportunity to return to a forgotten time to discover an elusive panacea called relaxation

It didnt take long for these forwardthinking developers to create an ideal environment for the rich and famous Built in Old West style their Apple Valley Inn attracted scores of Hollywood stars By the mid 1950s they had fashioned a niche so enticing that Roy Rogers and Dale Evans called the area home and the Apple Valley Inn their personal playground

To grow the city Bass and Westlund donated land to the library and local schools But it wasnt long before the pair realized that providing a stateoftheart medical facility near their subdivision would be a very good selling point

A few miles to the west in Victorville builder Clyde Tatum had the same idea Tatum was making a fortune providing quality affordable housing to postwar military personnel stationed at George Air Force Base He constructed scores of homes attracting thousands of people to the High Desert

Even though early community interest in having a hospital was high High Desert locals were skeptical afraid their little town couldnt afford it Hearty persuasion from civic leaders ultimately won them over and soon offers to donate land for the hospitals construction came from the BassWestlund team and from Tatum both camps desirous for the facility to be built near their own subdivisions

Bass and close friend Monsignor William Van Garsse had a vision for a Catholic hospital and school The pair saw their dream realized when the Apple Valley land offer was accepted The Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary led by Rev Mother Regina Mother General agreed to assume management and full permanent responsibility for the facility

Ironically just a few short years later growth in the High Desert was so intense that the community elected to build yet another hospital this time on a Victorville hillside property donated by the Kemper Campbell Ranch It was to be built by Clyde Tatum

1956
St Mary Desert Valley Hospital in Apple Valley a 29bed acute and maternity care facility was dedicated on November 19 1956 Appropriately the hospitals first patient was in active labor very happy her baby had decided to wait until the hospitals doors were open Staffed by the Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary St Mary Desert Valley Hospital flourished

On nearby Seventh Street in Victorville patrons of area businesses bustled between Iveys Furniture Store Joes Chicken Kitchen and the Green Spot Motel and Restaurant It was a time when smoking was fashionable and thick glass ashtrays decorated every tabletop Big shiny cars lined the streets and electric wires were strung methodically between downtown buildings

While Tatum was making a healthy living expanding the Victorville area south on Seventh Street toward the Cajon Summit Bass and Westlund were doing the same in Apple Valley

Advertising material boasting the cleanliness and purity of High Desert life was circulated in the Los Angeles Times Home after home continued to be built boosting progress The Apple Valley Bank was opened on Aztec Road alongside a large corner commercial building that housed the BassWestlund empire

In the late 1950s St Mary Desert Valley Hospital grew as well An expansion project added the hospitals south wing a new lobby medical library and additional dining and laundry facilities

1968
Years passed and the High Deserts growth persisted Modernization continued at St Mary Desert Valley Hospital in order to meet the regions growing needs By 1968 an emergency department was in place along with surgery physical therapy Xray and laboratory diagnostic facilities Bass and Westlund proudly advertised the hospital to newcomers saying it was as modern as tomorrow

In 1969 hospital sponsorship transferred from the Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Brothers of St John of God During the Brothers leadership the hospital expanded yet again

For developers the name of the game was real estate During the 70s and 80s Apple Valley and Hesperia entrepreneurs led the region in new homes built Many homeowners were retirees from the Los Angeles and San Bernardino basins And by 1984 St Mary Desert Valley Hospital was a 109bed topoftheline medical treatment facility serving more than 175000 High Desert residents Dedicated to preserving the lifestyle Bass and Westlund created the Town of Apple Valley was formed in 1988

1992
In 1992 the Sisters of St Joseph of Orange joined the Apple Valley hospital team bringing with them the St Joseph Health System and yet another successful era of High Desert health care Although the region experienced a painful dip in its economy due in part to the closure of George Air Force Base that year the hospital continued to thrive An openheart surgery program skilled nursing facility neonatal intensive care unit and a chest pain center were all opened

In 1996 yet another largescale expansion project was completed Then in 2001 residents of the High Desert were able to breathe a sigh of relief as the regions economy began to bounce back

Today
Even though Newton T Bass and B J Bud Westlund have passed away their memories and donations remain alive and well

Thanks to yet another donation a new county branch library has been built on Aztec Road today called Dale Evans Parkway right behind former BassWestlund office facilities The towns civic center is only a stones throw away

St Mary Medical Center once a small rectangular building perched behind a grassy knoll on an Apple Valley hill now sits majestically above a bustling highway Amidst a kaleidoscope of shades and colors on the ground and the hills Apple Valley is still a place where threedimensional skyscapes strike awe in the hearts of residents and visitors It is still a place of dreams and vision and inspiration

Isnt it tempting to imagine what it must have been like for Newton T Bass the day he made his discovery