Our History

South Coast Medical Center was founded in 1959. The decision to build the hospital came after Gordon French, a local police officer, had been shot and subsequently died during the race to the closest hospital some 25 miles away. To ensure this never happened again, in 1954 a group of prominent residents from Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and the unincorporated area of the County that became Laguna Niguel, formed the Laguna Beach Community Hospital Incorporated. The James Irvine Foundation, named for the fallen officer, offered to buy the land needed for building. A 22-acre lot of land, known as “The Badlands” for its hills and gullies, located in South Laguna, was chosen. It was purchased for $60,000 by the Foundation and an additional $50,000 was donated by the James Irvine Foundation for bulldozing and leveling the area.

August Koenig, a professional hospital consultant, was hired to oversee the initial stages of the hospital’s inception. Koenig petitioned for federal and state funding which was approved in 1957 under the condition that the community match the funds by half. In 1956, the Volunteer Auxiliary was formed and within 10 years a total of $100,000 was earned to advance the building project.

A 74-bed hospital was completed and dedicated on June 28, 1959. Over 3,000 area residents attended this event and the first patient was admitted to the new facility on July 1, 1959.

In 1964, a $1.5 million expansion of the hospital was completed that included a distinctive parking structure expansion, radiology and obstetrics and additional surgery suites. In 1971, a $7 million renovation was approved. This added 105-beds, an emergency department, two additional surgery suites, new administrative offices and expanded the radiology and laboratory services. During the 1970’s and 80’s, several new programs were implemented, including an eating disorder program, chemical dependency program, emotional and mental health unit and free physician referral. The South Coast Medical Foundation, a group that is largely responsible for raising funds to provide renovation and remodeling, was created in 1976. The Coastal Commission approved construction of a second medical office building on the hospital campus in 1986. In 1987, the Radiation Oncology Center opened, offering state-of-the-art radiation treatment.

A new name and logo were unveiled in 1985. The hospital became South Coast Medical Center (SCMC), with the new logo designed to reflect the hospital’s commitment to modern medical technology and scenic coastal setting.

SCMC joined Adventist Health on February 11, 1998. The following year, the South Coast Health Center was completed and a new chapel constructed.

The hospital began raising funds for a new cancer center and continued raising funds until 2004, when the State announced that all general acute care hospitals would be required to earthquake-retrofit their facilities. For South Coast Medical Center, this amounted to an expense of $65 million. Adventist Health decided to sell the hospital. However, the Laguna Beach community was quite concerned that it was going to lose its hospital and convinced several board members not to sell the facility. Bruce Christian, then on the Governing Board of Directors, agreed to accept the position of President & CEO and began working with a sub-committee of the Laguna Beach City Council to discuss challenges, opportunities and ideas for ensuring the retention of the hospital in Laguna Beach.

The hospital is finalizing plans to address the $65 million retrofit mandate and developing strategies to ensure the ongoing financial viability of the medical center.