San Antonio Community Hospital

1907 - A Humble Beginning

William Howard Craig, MD originally founded San Antonio Community Hospital at the corner of Arrow Highway and San Antonio Avenue. With only 18 beds and a staff of 5 physicians, the new hospital brought much needed medical care to the beautiful inland valley. Dr. William Howard Craig graduated with a degree in medicine from Johns Hopkins University, known as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, in 1886. He served the Upland community as a general practitioner and surgeon for 37 years.

1919 - Young Nurses in Training

Not only did the old San Antonio hospital minister to the sick directly, it also conducted a training school for nurses. The San Antonio Hospital School of Nursing graduated its first nurses in 1919. The wage scale during nurses' training began at $1.50 per month for the first year and increased to $2.00 a month for the second and $3.00 for the third. The superintendent of nurses received $100.00 per month. The nurses are shown here having tea in their boarding house—quite a civilized existence!

1924 - A Community Relationship Grows

Frances Mary Paul, one of the first benefactors, provided $75,000 of the $173,000 needed to build the new San Antonio Community Hospital building where it stands today on San Bernardino Road. The new hospital employed a staff of 16 with 35 beds and a 20-bed nursery. In today's dollars, Frances Mary Paul's gift would be equal to about $3 million.

1924 - Wide Open Country

The new San Antonio Community Hospital building on San Bernardino Road, just after opening. The setting was peaceful, almost pastoral, with wide-open land spaces.

1933 - Superior Leadership

Dr. Al Aita served as hospital administrator for more than 30 years. Under his vision and leadership, the hospital increased from 33 beds in 1933 to 128 beds in 1963.

Throughout his career Dr. Al Aita was active in the field of hospital administration. His high rating as an administrator was reflected in the many important posts he held in the healthcare field. He became a member of the Western Institute for Administrators in 1938, was chosen a fellow in 1944, and served as a member of its board of regents from 1951 to 1958.

In 1949, he was appointed to the Hospital Advisory Board of the State of California. Dr. Aita served as president of the Hospital Council of Southern California, California Hospital Association, and Western Hospital Association; regent of the American College of hospital Administrators; and board member of the American hospital Association. All hospitals and the patients they serve have been enriched by his knowledge and experience.

1940 - Generations of Babies

Two rows of bassinets line the newborn nursery. Over the last 100 years, generations of Inland Empire families have been born at San Antonio Community Hospital.

1943 - The First of Many Greats

San Antonio Community Hospital was the first hospital on the West Coast to manufacture penicillin in its refined state, making the drug available to the public even before it could be released by the government. Dr. Aita began growing the penicillin-mold cultures in his lab. Request for penicillin poured in from hospitals all over Southern California. (Dr. Aita is shown here preparing penicillin.)

1964 - Room to Grow

The hospital doubled in size when a new patient tower was completed in 1964. The cost was $4.5 million.

On June 8, the hospital admitted patients to the new four-story wing—larger than the previous four building projects combined. The main tower provided 130 new beds in addition to new outpatient facilities, pharmacy, physical therapy, central service, emergency, and laboratory departments, as well as a new radiology department.

1975 - An Urgently Needed Addition

The hospital opened a new Emergency Room, designed to accommodate 35,000 patients per year. Today, the hospital's Emergency Department treats more than 70,000 patients per year.

1989 - Another Great Milestone

The first open-heart surgery was performed at San Antonio Community Hospital. Today, the Heart Center provides a full spectrum of cardiac services from diagnosis to surgery to cardiac rehabilitation.

San Antonio Community Hospital's comprehensive Heart Program offers the very latest in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiac disorders.

1990 - Growing with the Community

Rancho San Antonio Medical Plaza opened, bringing access to urgent care, diagnostic, and therapeutic services, along with medical offices to the growing population of Rancho Cucamonga.

1996 - Touching Our Youngest Generation

The hospital opened a 20-bed dedicated Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, caring for premature and special needs babies. The new intensive care services bring life saving technology to young lives.

The NICU is staffed by registered nurses, neonatalogists, respiratory and occupational therapists, dietitians, and social workers who all have expertise in meeting the special needs of these infants and their families.

2006 - Another Great Beginning

Sierra San Antonio Medical Plaza opened, providing the Fontana area with access to urgent care, pharmacy and lab services, and physician offices, all designed to meet the needs of the burgeoning population in the region.

The facility also boasts a 3,000-square-foot. educational suite where lectures, health screenings, awareness campaigns, maternity and CPR classes are held.

Present - San Antonio Community Hospital Today

The growth San Antonio Community Hospital has experienced in its 100-year history has been transformational. The hospital has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1907, with only 18 beds and a staff of 5 physicians. Today, it is a leading edge medical center with 279 beds and a staff of over 500 physicians, offering advanced patient care throughout the Inland Empire.

Milestones