Ridgecrest Regional Hospital is a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

located in

Ridgecrest, California Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in California, U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lake) ...

which is just east of the Southern Sierra Mountains in the

Indian Wells Valley Indian Wells Valley is an arid north–south basin in east-central California. In the geologic sense, it is a southern extension of Owens Valley to the north, with the recent volcanics of the Coso Range being the separator. It is defined by a maj ...

. It has two

specialty Specialty or speciality may refer to: * Deed, a contract in law * Index of speciality, a geometrical invariant * ''Speciality'' (album), an album by J-Pop singer Nami Tamaki * Specialty (medicine), a field within medicine * Specialty (dentistry), ...

units, including

pediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

and

intensive care Intensive care medicine, usually called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes p ...

. The hospital was established in the mid-1940s out of a need for

medical care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is deliver ...

for the workforce of the growing China Lake Naval Weapons Station.It is the only regional

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

system in the area and provides a variety of

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

to the region. Jim Suver is the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the hospital.

Services

Ridgecrest Regional Hospital provides

family medicine Family medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, is ...

services through the Southern Sierra Medical Clinic and Rural Health Clinic. The hospital offers the following: * Cardiology/Cardiac Rehab * Cardiopulmonary/Respiratory Care * Case Management/Social Services * Critical Care Unit * Education * Emergency Services * Home Health * Maternal/Child/Family Unit * Pastoral Care * Patient Care Conferences * Radiology * Rehabilitation Services * Surgery and Outpatient Services * Telemedicine

History

The hospital was established by Dr. Thomas Drummond in 1945 as Ridgecrest Community Hospital. The hospital has seen several expansions over the years: a new wing was added in 1968; an

intensive-care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

in 1976; and a four-phased major expansion was begun in 1987.

Financial Situation

In August 2022 Ridgecrest Regional Hospital announces that it would be closing down its cancer center due to a shortage of oncologists In August 2023, The California Department of Health Care Access and Information awarded Ridgecrest Regional Hospital $5.5 million in interest-free loans as a part of a Distressed Hospital Loan Program. In November 2023, the hospital announced the end of their labor delivery program due to a shortage of obstetric providers. Soon after in announced that it will be laying off employees due to financial hardship. The situation is concerning for nearby residents who don't have alternatives for medical care.

References

External links

Official Ridgecrest Regional Hospital website

City of Ridgecrest: Health and Safety
{{authority control Hospitals in Kern County, California Ridgecrest, California