LOMA LINDA>> A Veterans Administration policy of building its hospitals near medical schools delayed construction by several years. In 1962, Loma Linda University began moving its School of Medicine from East Los Angeles to Loma Linda. The consolidation opened the way for the Veterans Administration to seriously consider Loma Linda as a potential VA hospital site. It took at least four major events to get the hospital built in Loma Linda: the consolidation of the School of Medicine in Loma Linda, a bitterly contested court battle over another site in Los Angles, the persistent efforts of area veterans and several congressmen, and finally an earthquake. The story is saddened by the tragic death of Congressman Pettis, who, at the time of his fatal plane crash, was on an errand for the VA hospital that bears his name.
During the dedication ceremonies of the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center in Loma Linda, United States Senator Alan Cranston told the audience of 4,500: "The structure you see here today is not only the most modern veteran's hospital in America, but one of the most sophisticated hospitals. . .in the world."
Jerry Pettis’ widow, Congresswoman Shirley N. Pettis, delivered the dedication address: “I have feelings of satisfaction because I know how much this hospital will mean to the people it serves and how much it meant to the man whose name it bears." Patients moved into the new hospital two days later on September 27, 1977. From its opening, and continuing until today, virtually everyone who practices medicine or dentistry there is on the faculty of Loma Linda University. And it serves students from various schools of the University as well as resident physicians of the Medical Center.
Shirley Pettis won her second campaign for the United States Congress by 73 percent.
After Shirley’s second term, several factors led her to step down. Because she had told Jerry Lewis, a California assemblyman who had worked with her and her husband, that he would be the first to know, he asked her if she had priorities she wanted him to carry on. She answered, “I want you to do for Loma Linda University what Jerry and I have tried to do.
He responded, “I will honor that and it is good for me, too. They are the largest employer in the district. But I admire and respect what they are doing.” Congressman Jerry Lewis eventually became a member of the influential and powerful House Committee on Appropriations, and brought literally hundreds of millions of dollars into what is now known as Loma Linda University Health. These allocations came from the United States Congress, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and NASA to support the Proton Treatment Center and to build cancer research facilities.
To keep productive, Shirley then became a member of major business boards of trustees, as well as the boards of Loma Linda University and Loma Linda University Medical Center.
Both David B. Hinshaw, Sr., MD, president of the Loma Linda University Medical Center and J. David Moorhead, MD, Senior Vice President for Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, were instrumental in planning the Children’s Hospital Foundation. On May 20, 1992, the Medical Center Board of Trustees approved the formation of the community-based Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation; one of the criteria for becoming a member of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, Inc.
Former Congresswoman Shirley Pettis-Roberson, a compassionate woman, long known for her active support for service and philanthropic projects in the Inland Empire, became its first Chair, and assembled a Foundation Board that included local, state, and national leaders. The Foundation works closely with public and private agencies interested in children’s health care. It educates lawmakers and the public on the critical health needs facing American children. The Foundation’s task is daunting because increasing numbers of children in the County of San Bernardino live in poverty and less than one fourth of them receive medical, dental, or basic day care.
Nearly 70 percent of the Children’s Hospital’s patients are under-insured or have no insurance at all. Yet, LLUCH provides patient care for children regardless of their family’s ability to pay within the Inland Empire’s four-county area, home to more than 1.3 million children. Shirley also founded the Big Hearts for Little Hearts Desert Guild and was a member of the University Councilors.