SAN BERNARDINDO >> Loma Linda University Health broke ground Wednesday on its $65 million downtown campus.
The project, to be housed in a three-story, 150,000-square-foot building adjacent to San Manuel Stadium, has been supported by a $10 million grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and will include a joint medical-education effort.
“For us to come off our campus … and plant our flag in San Bernardino is significant,” said Dr. Richard Hart, president of Loma Linda Health. “We are casting our future with this city and we intend to build this city back to the prominence it once had.”
The project is likely “to spark interest by other businesses” in a corridor of the downtown area near the 215 Freeway and south of City Hall, said Ken Ramirez, San Manuel tribal secretary.
“The project will obviously bring healthcare. But what San Bernardino really needs is jobs and job skills,” Hart said.
There’s “a plethora” of available jobs that require certificates, which can be obtained in three to 12 months, Hart said. Those kinds of training programs will be offered at the downtown campus.
Dale Marsden, San Bernardino City Unified School District Superintendent, said that the educational facility is “one of a kind” in the nation, in that recent high school graduates will be interacting with medical doctors.
The gift from the San Manuel tribe will go to the creation of San Manuel Gateway College, a joint educational effort between Loma Linda University Health and local organizations that include the San Bernardino City Unified School District, city of San Bernardino, County of San Bernardino, San Bernardino Community College District, Social Action Community Health System and several area non-profits, officials said.
The project will also bring with it a downtown pharmacy, a vegetarian restaurant and about 400 jobs.
Hart said that Loma Linda University trains 700 physicians in residency programs at any one time, and most will take their clinical hours at the new clinic, which will be located at 250 South G St.
The current SACHS clinic, at 1455 E. Third St., has the capacity for about 30,000 patient visits per year. The new facility will be able to accommodate more than 200,000 patient visits annually, said Nancy Young, CEO and director of the SACHS clinic.
The existing SACHS clinic site is expected to remain operational, Young said.
Hart noted that the federal Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded a $600,000 grant for tuition assistance and career coaching to Inland Empire students which will be administrated by the San Manuel Gateway College.
“We have been dreaming about this for a long time and it is finally here,” Hart said.
The project is expected to be completed in spring 2016.
