For over 150 years, Kern Medical has been at the heart of healthcare in Kern County. Today Kern Medical is proud to be highly specialize tertiary referral center, an academic teaching institution and a safety net hospital. Our mission is to provide safe, compassionate, and high-quality care that improves the health and well-being of our community.
Our long and storied past was built on the bedrock of quality and compassionate care for all. As the decades march forward and healthcare changes dramatically, whether due to scientific innovation or the shifting political arena, we see Kern Medical as a constant in our community.
From the single room structure of 1867 in the mining community of Havilah to the bustling Hospital Authority of today with primary care, specialty physician services and an advanced medical center, we have witnessed dramatic advancements in care. From penicillin, to X-rays, to the latest in robotic surgery, Kern Medical has delivered these advancements to all residents of Kern County.
In the Spring of 2014, Assemblyman Rudy Salas introduced AB2546 – with the goal of creating the Kern County Hospital Authority. That September, Governor Brown signed the legislation enabling the formation of the Kern County Hospital Authority. In October 2015, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved the Ordinance and in 2016, Kern Medical successfully transitioned to a Hospital Authority. A Hospital Authority is a public entity whose sole purpose is to operate a hospital, clinics and provide health care services to the entire community. It is run by an independent Board of Governors and continues to be a designated public hospital.
Under Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 101852) of Part 4 of Division 101 of the Health and Safety Code, the county was authorized to establish the Authority and transfer to it the ownership, maintenance, control, management, and operation of the Health Facilities.