150 years of patient care badge
Sacramento County Hospital 1933
1871 – 2021

Celebrating 150 years at Stockton Boulevard and X Street — a history of serving Sacramento and the surrounding communities UC Davis Medical Center

Modern day UC Davis Medical Center hospital at Stockton Blvd and X Street

1840s – 1860s

Sacramento riverfront, Gold Rush era, photo courtesy Sacramento Library
Depiction of a campsite located at what is now Front Street in Old Sacramento along the river during the Gold Rush, circa 1849. Courtesy of the Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library.
1849

1849 – In the Gold Rush era, Sacramento’s first hospitals are small, for-profit and exorbitantly priced.

1850 – Most of what is now downtown Sacramento floods and cholera kills thousands, sparking a public outcry for a hospital to care for the poor. The Sacramento City Council appoints a hospital committee to create a plan.

1850 – The first Sacramento City Hospital is being built when it is destroyed by a storm.

1853 – A Sacramento County hospital for the indigent opens at the corner of 10th and L streets on what is now a part of Capitol Park.

1860

1860s – Sacramento County buys 65 acres on Stockton Boulevard, at what is now the corner of Stockton and X Street, for $11,000.

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History of the hospital

Like most of California, Sacramento was a quiet, wide open place until the middle of the 1800s. Then in January 1848, James Marshall saw something shiny in a creek along the American River. By mid-1849, gold changed everything. People flooded into the territory by the tens of thousands.

More than 90,000 people made their way to California in 1849, according to historical estimates, and by 1855, more than 300,000 people had survived their hard journeys to the new state. About half crossed the thousands of miles of wild American country by land, the rest crowded onto ships and sailed to ports like San Francisco. Some then boarded riverboats heading up to Sacramento, others trudged by land toward gold country.

Sacramento County Hospital 1933

1870s – 1890s

Sacramento County Hospital, circa 1870s, photo courtesy Sacramento Library
Sacramento County Hospital, circa 1870s, before it was destroyed in October 1878 by fire. Courtesy of the Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library.
Artist’s rendition of new Sacramento County Hospital with five wings, 1879
Artist’s rendition of new Sacramento County Hospital with five wings built on same site, 1879.

1870 – Construction of the 216-bed, $80,000 hospital building is completed. 

1871

1871 – The new Sacramento County Hospital opens for indigent patients at Stockton Boulevard and X Street.

1878 – The Sacramento County Hospital is destroyed by fire.

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1879 – Another new Sacramento County Hospital is built and opens on the same site. It has a two-story main admin­istration building with five wings — one for dining, the rest as wards — and accommo­dates 150–160 beds. 

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1872 to 1904 – The Sacramento County Hospital is led by County Physician Dr. George Amos White, who initiates the use of spinal anesthesia in surgery, brings in one of the first X-ray machines in the state and helps develop the first clinical laboratory in the region. 

1879

1879 – A large farm and vineyard surrounds the hospital and supplies food for patients and staff. It includes four acres of vineyards, six acres of gardens, 10 pasture acres and a few acres of orchards. The strongest patients are required to work the farm and garden in the early years. The farm lasts into the 20th century. 

1891 – The county authorizes burials for indigent patients on the hospital grounds. The first burial takes place in 1897, the last in 1927. (In 2004, the remains of 72 people are reinterred at the Sacramento County Cemetery on Fruitridge Road).

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Into the 20th century — answering new needs

Through the 19th century, the hospital was guided mostly by just one County Physician, Dr. George Amos White, who held the post from 1872 to 1904, with an interruption from 1879 to 1881, when the county briefly put homeopathists in charge. White initiated the use of spinal anesthesia in surgery, a first for Sacramento and a procedure that had been developed in Europe not long before. He also brought in one of the area’s first X-ray machines and helped develop the first clinical laboratory in the region.

In addition, in its first decades, the hospital established its legacy of caring for the poor and underserved. In 1891, the county authorized burials for indigent patients on the hospital grounds. The first person was buried in 1897, the last in 1927. (In 2004, 72 patient remains were reinterred at the Sacramento County Cemetery on Fruitridge Road).

Sacramento County Hospital 1930s aerial

1900s – 1930s

1928 aerial photo of Sacramento County Hospital grounds
This 1928 photograph provides an aerial view of the Sacramento County Hospital. At the lower section of the photograph and facing Stockton Boulevard is the hospital’s incomplete administrative building. In addition to containing a reception desk and the offices of the hospital superintendent and head nurse, the building contained the primary surgery unit and an emergency operating room. Courtesy of the Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library.
new lobby of the administration building of the Sacramento County Hospital, 1929
This photograph of the lobby area of the newly-constructed administrative building of the Sacramento County Hospital was taken on June 21, 1929. Courtesy of the Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library.
treatment room at Sacramento County Hospital, circa 1930s
A treatment room at the Sacramento County Hospital, circa 1930s.

1906 – The University of California secures land to start an agricultural farming school in Davisville (now Davis).

1908

1908 – The University Farm in Davis begins offering classes. The following year, it starts a three-year non-degree vocational program with 18 students enrolled.

1915 – A citizens’ group sets down the foundation for a modernized hospital in Sacramento, with proposed plans to remake or rebuild the county hospital and to have it grow to a 500-bed facility. Changes to the plans continue until 1929.

1918 – A full-time resident superintendent takes over as administrator of the County Hospital and visiting physicians are added to the staff.

1918 to 1919 – The global influenza pandemic hits Sacramento and the Central Valley hard. The County Hospital turns over two wards to the Red Cross to care for flu patients.

1922

1922 – The first four-year degree program is offered by the University of California at the University Farm campus in Davis and the college is renamed the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture for the University of California.

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1929 – A new hospital building with new pavilions opens, at a cost of $1 million.

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1932 – A home for aged women opens at the rear of the County Hospital. A home for aged men opens seven miles to the south. Both homes are run by the hospital to care for the poor.

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The mid-century — new drugs, big neighbors and more change

In 1908, the California State Fair had moved from various spots around the Capitol to become a next-door neighbor of the Sacramento County Hospital, with the fairgrounds growing to more than 200 acres in the 1930s. By 1938, it was the largest state fair in America, and into the 1950s, it was called one of the country’s top attractions. The fair paused from 1942-47, when the grounds were used for military purposes.

In the 1950s and ’60s, the fair drew national class performers to the grounds and its concert venue, Governor’s Hall. The ’50s stars included Duke Ellington, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee and Lawrence Welk. In the 1960s, the venue hosted rock bands ranging from The Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Yardbirds to lesser known acts.

California State Fair Map, 1953, neighbor to Sacramento County Hospital

1940s – 1960s

War Department appreciation certificate, 1946
Sacramento County Hospital received a certificate of appreciation in 1946 from the War Department for the efforts to sponsor, organize and staff the 51st Evacuation Hospital, which supported U.S. troops in Italy and France in 1944 and Germany in 1945. Among its duties there, the unit treated freed prisoners of war.
Sacramento County Hospital, circa 1950s
Photo of the Sacramento County Hospital, circa 1950s.
Sacramento County Hospital, aerial photo taken 1955
An aerial photograph of Sacramento County Hospital taken in 1955.
Sacramento County Hospital, circa 1955
A front view of Sacramento County Hospital located at 2221 Stockton Blvd., taken circa 1955.

1944 – Doctors from the County Hospital and around the region sponsor, organize and staff the 51st Evacuation Hospital. They support U.S. troops in Italy and France that year, then in Germany in 1945. Among its duties there, the unit treats freed prisoners of war. It would be thanked by the War Department for its service, skill and valor.

1945

1945 – County Hospital superintendent Dr. Leo Farrell introduces the “wonder drug” penicillin to the Sacramento region.

Late 1940s – Sacramento County Hospital serves as the polio center for inland Northern California, housing patients in its Isolation Ward 21.

1950 – A six-story medical center is built incorporating some of the old building into the new one.

1959

1959 – The University of California officially names Davis as its seventh campus in the UC system.

1961 – Graduate division programs are started by UC Davis. Air conditioning is installed on the top four floors of the main hospital building.

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1964 – A four-year modernization program begins for the Sacramento County hospital. It costs $10.5 million and includes a new eight-story East Wing with 216 beds. The County Hospital becomes a community medical center open to anyone in the Sacramento Valley, not just people unable to pay for medical care.

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1966

1966 – The creation of the UC Davis School of Medicine begins. UC Davis and Sacramento County sign an affiliation agreement for the Sacramento County Hospital to be the medical faculty’s primary clinical teaching facility.

1968 – The UC Davis School of Medicine opens and welcomes its first 48 students.

The hospital changes its name to the Sacramento Medical Center, and a new operating room and emergency room open in the hospital to expand treatments available for patients.

The hospital’s longtime, large, and occasionally loud neighbor, the California State Fair, moves to Cal Expo.

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1966–1978 — Enter UC Davis and the start of a world-class institution

Back in Davis in 1966, in a field west of campus, the UC Davis School of Medicine was forming in a few temporary buildings. Its founding vision, which still guides the school today, was to become an academic, research and medical powerhouse that could change health care and the world. One key step for the School of Medicine: It needed a teaching hospital. In 1966, UC Davis and Sacramento County signed an affiliation agreement for the County Hospital to be the faculty’s primary clinical teaching facility. The university and the county would share the cost of providing care.

In September 1968, the School of Medicine welcomed its first class with 48 students, including four women. On October 25, the hospital changed its name to the Sacramento Medical Center.

Sacramento Medical Center aerial 1969

1970s

Sacramento Medical Center hospital, circa 1970s
Sacramento Medical Center, which was renamed from Sacramento County Hospital in 1968, photo taken circa 1970s.
 1977 photograph of the main UC Davis Medical Center hospital
The Sacramento County Hospital is officially renamed to the University of California, Davis Medical Center. Photo is of the main hospital building taken in 1977.
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1973

1973 – The University of California Regents buys the hospital for $1, making it the permanent teaching hospital for the School of Medicine. The Regents and UC Davis also purchase other buildings, land, equipment and supplies for the fair market value of $8 million.

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1974 – A Regional Burn Center opens in the hospital. The Burn Center will later partner with Shriners Hospitals for Children to care for pediatric burn patients.

1977 – A Regional Poison Center opens in the hospital.

1978

1978 – The Sacramento County Hospital officially changes its name to the University of California, Davis Medical Center.

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Through the 1980s and 1990s — the world-class transition begins

Through the next two decades, the UC Davis Medical Center and the campus around it — officially the Sacramento Campus of UC Davis — would grow physically to 144 acres, taking over most of the former California State Fairgrounds. It would also expand both its health care services and its national reputation. For instance, in 1981, it developed a system of quality assurance that would become a national model.

Then in 1982, the new eight-story University Tower opened, expanding the hospital to the east adding 146 beds, additional intensive care units and more modernized medical facilities.

UC Davis Medical Center hospital aerial, 1993

1980s

Life flight helicopter
UC Davis Medical Center is named the Sacramento County Trauma Center, and the Life Flight medical air ambulance service begins, photo circa 1984.
Emergency room disaster training photo
Doctors and staff carry out disaster drill training in 1988 in the Emergency Department.

1981 – The hospital opens the Center of Aging and Health, the first geriatric outpatient service to be part of a university teaching hospital.

1982 – The new eight-story University Tower opens, expanding the hospital to the east and adding 146 beds, additional intensive care units and more modernized medical facilities.

1984

1984 – UC Davis Medical Center is named the Sacramento County Trauma Center, and the Life Flight medical air ambulance service begins operating from the medical center to transport patients from across the hospital’s 33-county service area in Northern California.

1987 – UC Davis Medical Center joins the Children’s Miracle Network.

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1988 – UC Davis Medical Center is designated a level I Trauma Center, the only one in inland Northern California.

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1989

1989 – The hospital and its related services qualify for membership in the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, and the hospital is designated as a “children’s hospital within a hospital.”

1990s

Main entrance for the University of California, Davis, Medical Center
The main entrance of UC Davis Medical Center, circa 1980s or early 1990s.
Pediatrics area of hospital, circa 1990s
A view into a pediatrics room of the hospital, circa 1990s.
Emergency Department entrance, 1990s photo
Emergency Department entrance at UC Davis Medical Center, circa 1990s.
Construction of the Davis Tower, 1996
Construction of the Davis Tower, a 14-story tower addition to the medical center. Photo taken in 1996, three years before the opening.

1990 – The Ambulatory Surgery Center opens.

1991 – The UC Davis Cancer Center opens.

1992

1992 – UC Davis Heart Center is created. UC Davis Health establishes its first telemedicine link. The connection with Colusa Community Hospital allows many women to stay in their own community while receiving expert delivery services.

1994 – The UC Davis Health system is established, integrating business operations and strategic planning for UC Davis’ physician group, medical school and medical center. The first community clinic beyond the Sacramento health campus opens in Placerville.

1996 – The use of telecommunications technology to improve access to health care in rural communities evolves into the award-winning Telehealth Program.

1997

1997 – Shriners Hospitals for Children opens on the UC Davis Sacramento campus, across X Street from the medical center with services supported by UC Davis medical experts.

1997 – UC Davis Medical Center becomes one of the first six hospitals in the nation designated as a Magnet™ Center of Excellence for nursing.

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1998 – UC Davis establishes the MIND Institute, a unique interdis­ciplinary institute, to conduct research and provide clinical programs focused on autism and neurodevelop­mental disorders. The Lawrence J. Ellison Am­bulatory Care Center opens to deliver outpatient services and treatments.

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1999

1999 – The state-of-the-art 14-story Davis Tower opens, creating a model inpatient environment. The Telemedicine Learning Center is established to train practitioners and administrators throughout Northern California. It is recognized as one of the most successful programs in the nation. UC Davis’ pediatric intensive care unit establishes a novel telemedicine link to the emergency department of Mercy Medical Center in Redding.

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The 21st century — the growth of a world leader in patient care, academics and medical research

The UC Davis Medical Center continued to expand as a national and world leader as the century was turning. In 1997, it was one of first six hospitals in America designated as a Magnet™ nursing center of excellence. In August 1998, the Lawrence J. Ellison Ambulatory Care Center welcomed its first patients for outpatient care. In October 1999, the Telemedicine Learning Center was established, training practitioners and administrators throughout Northern California in the growing use of virtual care consultation and real-time specialist support over long distances.

UC Davis Medical Center Pavilion opening 2010

2000s

The UC Davis MIND Institute building
The UC Davis MIND Institute’s 110,000-square-foot complex opens in 2003.
2003 photo showing construction work at UC Davis Medical Center
A photo of construction work at the UC Davis Medical Center main hospital, taken in 2003.
2001

2001 – The MIND Institute breaks ground on a new building to house its research on the UC Davis Sacramento Campus.

2002 – The UC Davis Cancer Center achieves National Cancer Institute designation.

2003 – The MIND Institute’s 110,000-square-foot complex opens.

2006 – The School of Medicine’s Education Building opens on the UC Davis Sacramento campus, across the street from UC Davis Medical Center, bringing all four years of medical school activities to Sacramento.

2006

The Clinical and Translational Science Center is established with $24.8 million from the National Institutes of Health. UC Davis is one of the first 12 institutions in the country to receive this NIH grant.

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2007 – The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation donates $100 million in founding support to launch the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. It is the largest grant for nursing education in the country.

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2010s

Pavilion ribbon cutting in 2010
In 2010, the UC Davis Medical Center Surgery and Emergency Services Pavilion opens and becomes the hospital’s new front door. From left to right, at the ribbon cutting ceremony: Ann Madden Rice, Linda Katehi, Michael Chapman, Cliff Haskell, Congresswoman Doris Matsui and Claire Pomeroy.
The UC Davis Cancer Center signage showing comprehensive designation
The UC Davis Cancer Center earns "comprehensive" status from the National Cancer Institute, joining only 40 other U.S. institutions with this designation.
newly opened Betty Irene Moore Hall in 2017
The Betty Irene Moore Hall opens in 2017, welcoming nursing students to its state-of-the-art learning spaces and simulation suites.

2010 – The UC Davis Medical Center Surgery and Emergency Services Pavilion opens and becomes the hospital’s new front door.

The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing welcomes its first students.

The UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures opens on the Sacramento campus in a refurbished building from the former Sacramento County Fairgrounds, becoming the university’s hub for stem cell science and research.

2012

2012 – The UC Davis Cancer Center earns “comprehensive” status from the National Cancer Institute, joining only 40 other U.S. institutions with this designation.

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2016 – Grateful patient Ernest E. Tschannen gives a record $38.5 million in gifts and pledges to support eye care and create the Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Institute (scheduled to open in 2021). The donations make Tschannen the largest individual donor to UC Davis in the university’s history.

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2017 – Betty Irene Moore Hall opens on the Sacramento campus, completing the health education core of UC Davis and promoting innovative, interprofessional education.

The University of California Firearms Violence Prevention and Research Center is launched.

2018

2018 – The development of Aggie Square on the Sacramento campus is announced.

UC Davis Medical Center launches its farm-to-fork food sustainability program and wins national awards for quality and sustainability.

UC Davis announces plans for the Sacramento Rehabilitation Hospital at UC Davis Health, creating a second hospital on the Sacramento campus. It will be focused on helping patients transition between inpatient services and their homes.

2019 – The six-story North Addition Office Building opens with state-of-the-art conference rooms, an outdoor meeting space and office space for health system and hospital leadership and providers.

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Into the 2020s

Construction is underway for a 2021 opening of the Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Institute to be housed in an expansion of the Lawrence J. Ellison Ambulatory Care Center building. Tschannen is a former UC Davis Health patient and his $38.5 million in gifts and pledges to support the new center for vision science made him the largest individual donor to UC Davis in the university’s history.

Projected to open in 2022, Aggie Square will eventually span 25 acres of the UC Davis Sacramento campus and feature state-of-the-art research facilities, classroom space, the Alice Waters Institute for Edible Education, multi-family housing, mixed-use space and a range of amenities.

Tschannen Eye Institute rendering, 2020

2020s

administering the COVID vaccine, 2021
UC Davis Medical Center leads effort to vaccinate elderly and at-risk individuals for COVID-19.
Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Center building rendering
Artist’s rendering of The Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Institute building. Construction is underway and the new center is scheduled to be opened in 2021.
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2020

2020 – Partnerships across the university help the UC Davis School of Medicine become a national leader in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, treating thousands of the region’s sickest patients, helping create innovations in care, treatments and testing, and participating in crucial vaccine clinical trials.

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2021

Coming in 2021 – The Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Institute is scheduled to open.

Construction is expected to start on the California Tower of the UC Davis Medical Center.

The 150th anniversary of the hospital opening at Stockton Boulevard and X Street is celebrated.

On July 1, ground is broken for a second hospital on the campus, the UC Davis Rehabilitation Hospital, located at 49th Street and Broadway. The hospital is expected to open to patients in 2023.