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History of Memorial Medical Center

Memorial Medical Center opened as a 72,000 sq. ft., 99-bed facility on May 1, 1970. The hospital was developed and constructed by Memorial Hospitals Association, an organization of community residents dedicated to providing quality health care in Stanislaus County.

A History of Providing Community Based, Not for Profit Health Care services

Throughout its history, Memorial Medical Center has grown along with the community, because Memorial is guided by the community’s health care needs and supported by community contributions. Memorial is governed by a volunteer board of local leaders and health care professionals, and our only shareholders are the residents of Stanislaus and neighboring counties. We reinvest any funds left after paying for patient care to enhance treatment, improve facilities and equipment, provide health education and research, and fund community benefit programs.

Memorial affiliated with Sutter Health, one of the nation's leading non-profit networks of community health services, in 1996. Since then, Memorial has benefited from the affiliation by enjoying reduced operating expenses and stronger contractual relationships with health insurance plans.

Memorial has been proud to provide a number of significant milestones in our community’s health care history:

1970: Memorial Medical Center opened with 99 beds and five floors, two of them shelled in for future growth and completed a few years later.

1972: 24-hour emergency services initiated.
1978: Medi-Flight introduced as the first air ambulance services in Stanislaus County and one of only nine programs of its kind throughout the nation.
1980: Same Day Surgery, the county’s first outpatient surgical services, opened.
1981: Community cancer accreditation awarded by the American College of Surgeons.
1988: Advanced Medical Diagnostic Center initiated with specialized equipment for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), angiography, myelography, ultrasound and nuclear medicine, as well as an expanded cardiac catheterization laboratory.
1989: Open heart surgery program added.
1991: Project 40, the five-story west expansion of Memorial Medical Center, opens two floors featuring additional birthing services and intensive care beds, with the remaining three floors completed by 2000.
1994: Level II Nursery created to provide care for high-risk infants.
1996: Memorial developed a full affiliation with Sutter Health.
1999: Health Center initiated, providing comprehensive outpatient programs for breastfeeding assistance, cardiac and pulmonary independence, diabetes management and heart failure education.
2001: Outpatient Surgery Center at Spanos Court opened.
2003: Weight Loss Surgery Program initiated.
2004: Level II Trauma Center designation awarded.
2007: Opening of the first five floors of the North Tower expansion, a seven-story patient care tower featuring 112 inpatient beds and 18 operating rooms. As with previous construction, the remaining two floors have been shelled in to accommodate future expansion.