History of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

Rancho's History

A Tradition of Excellence

2006 - The Los Amigos Research & Education Institute celebrates its 50th Anniversary
2005 - World renowned physician Jacquelin Perry, MD celebrates 50 years at Rancho
2004 - Rancho conducts more than 50,000 outpatient visits
2003 - 20^thanniversary of the Rancho Los Amigos Foundation
2002 - Rancho’s Language and Culture Resource Center honored for management excellence by CAPH (California Association of Public Hospitals & Health Systems)
2001 - The Art of Rancho program, featuring Rancho patients, earns international honors
2000 - Inaugural Rancho Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine and Science is published
1999 - Rancho is renamed Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
1998 - Once again listed in the top 10 of U.S. News and World Report’s best rehabilitation hospitals
1997 - Opening of HOME, a housing facility for patients families and significant others
1996 - The Jacquelin Perry Neuro-Trauma Institute and Rehabilitation Center opens, one of the nation’s most advanced rehabilitation patient care buildings
1995 - Centralized Admission and Referral Office (CARO) established
1994 - Medical Resonance Imaging Center opens Primary Care Clinic for patients with spinal cord and brain injuries
1992 - Construction begins on the first phase of the Rancho 2000 Master Plan to build a 150-bed in-patient unit called The Jacquelin Perry Neuro-Trauma Institute and Rehabilitation Center
1989 - Estin Comarr Spinal Injury Clinic opens. The Las Floristas Center for Applied Rehabilitation Technology established to evaluate and train the disabled through the use of technological advancements
1988 - Rancho celebrates its Centennial – 100 years of excellence!
1985 - Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center established
1983 - RLA Foundation, Inc. formed to provide additional program support
1979 - Rancho receives federal designation as a model system for spinal cord injury care
1976 - Liver Service relocated to Rancho from John Wesley Hospital
1972 - Rancho becomes officially affiliated with the University of Southern California
1971 - Seating Center for wheelchairs and special cushions established
1968 - Prosthetics Department created
1966 - Children’s Orthopedic Services established
1961 - Pathokinesiology Service founded
1959 - The first accreditation for Rancho Los Amigos Hospital received from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals
1955 - Dr. Vernon L. Nickel, introduces the halo, a method of traction and immobilization for the cervical and upper thoracic spine
1953 - Orthopaedic surgical procedures begun, led by Vernon L. Nickel, M.D. Drs. Perry and Nickel perform innovative work in the area of spinal fusions on ventilator dependent patients
1952 - The first research lab was set up for chemical, pulmonary and physiological studies
1951 - Rancho was designated as a respiratory center for poliomyelitis patients – the beginning of rehabilitation at Rancho
1929 - Occupational Therapy started
1927 - Physical Therapy started
1888 - The first buildings were built and the first indigent residents were transferred from the County hospital to the Poor Farm