Über uns

St Vincent Medical Center has a long and honored history. In 1856, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul came to the Los Angeles Valley, where they opened a school and an orphanage and then began caring for the sick in the community. In 1869, the Daughters incorporated the Los Angeles Infirmary. Since then, the Daughters have been caring for patients at the Los Angeles Infirmary, which became St. Vincent Medical Center, providing care through two smallpox epidemics. In recent decades, St. Vincent Medical Center has seen a number of groundbreaking medical innovations, including the first successful open-heart surgery on the West Coast, the first operations using the surgical microscope on the inner ear, the first hemodialysis for kidney failure patients, the first heart transplantation. In addition to providing innovating, groundbreaking medical treatment, St. Vincent Medical Center supports a number of community outreach initiatives. The hospital works with the community to provide an afterschool program for local children through Casa de Amigos de San Vicente, which also fosters three Neighborhood Watch groups working in concert with the Los Angeles Police Department. St. Vincent Medical Center supports a Health Sciences Library and maintains a website with responsible, medically accurate information for patients and community members. One of St. Vincent Medical Center's most important community outreach programs, the Multicultural Health Awareness and Prevention Center offers health education, disease prevention, early detection information, and referral services for people in Los Angeles, including the Korean, Latino, Filipino, and Chinese communities. By providing a range of services to multicultural communities, St. Vincent Medical Center's Multicultural Health Awareness Program supports those communities' continued wellness.