Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Adventist HealthCare

Adventist HealthCare traces its roots to the turn of the 20th century when Ellen White, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, contributed proceeds from the sale of her book The Ministry of Healing to help build the Washington Sanitarium. Its first entity, Washington Sanitarium opened in February 1904 and was temporarily headquartered in Washington, D.C., until a permanent facility in Takoma Park, Md., was opened in June 1907.

In its early years, the Sanitarium improved the physical, mental, and spiritual health of its visitors through rest, exercise, and a wholesome diet. After World War I it began providing surgical, obstetric, and emergency care. In 1971, the hospital performed its first open heart surgery. Two years later, it was renamed Washington Adventist Hospital.

Months later, a second facility, Hackettstown Community Hospital (now called Hackettstown Regional Medical Center) opened in northwestern New Jersey. In 1979, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital opened its doors in Rockville, Md.

Today, Adventist HealthCare, one of the largest employers in the state of Maryland, employs more than 7,000 people and cares for more than 250,000 patients annually. This nonprofit network includes three acute care hospitals, a rehabilitation hospital, one psychiatric hospital, numerous nursing centers, and several home health agencies.

Today at the Columbia Union Conference Executive Committee meeting, the presidents of the union’s two healthcare systems made a donation that will make a dramatic difference in the lives of hundreds, possibly thousands of visually impaired people in India.

At year-end meetings last week, five Columbia Union Conference members were recognized for their contribution to the cause of Christ during a special luncheon held in their honor. This new award, called Notable Persons of Honor, spotlighted Joyce Newmyer, president of Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Md.; Larry Boggess, president of the Mountain View Conference; José H. Cortés, president of the New Jersey Conference; Josephine Benton, a retired pastor; and Weymouth Spence, president of Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park.

A leading economist is predicting that the proposed relocation of the Washington Adventist Hospital to White Oak, Md. and its continued use of the hospital’s nearby Takoma Park, Md. campus, will be a catalyst for helping the region meet its full economic potential.

Ester Bacud, RN, a member of Potomac Conference’s Filipino Capitol church in Beltsville, Md., was recently awarded Washington Adventist Hospital’s (WAH) first Compassionate Care Award. The new annual honor is presented to a member of the hospital community (staff, physicians, contract employees, volunteers, etc.) who best embodies the hospital’s mission to “demonstrate God’s care.”

Adventist HealthCare (AHC) earned accolades for its work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Green Power Partnership through its purchase of more than 5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. AHC’s purchase is the largest by a healthcare services provider in the state of Maryland, and the fourth largest nationwide.