About Alameda County Medical Center

Our Mission

Alameda County Medical Center is committed to maintaining and improving the health of all County residents, regardless of ability to pay.

The Medical Center will provide comprehensive, high quality medical treatment, health promotion, and health maintenance through an integrated system of hospitals, clinics, and health services staffed by individuals who are responsive to the diverse cultural needs of our community.

The Medical Center, as a training institution, is committed to maintaining an environment that is supportive of a wide range of educational programs and activities. Education of medical students, interns, residents, continuing education for medical nursing, and other staff, along with medical research, are all essential components of our environments.

Strategic Vision

Alameda County Medical Center will be recognized as a leading integrated health care system available to all residents of Alameda County. We will champion expansion of health care coverage and access to help reduce health disparities within the County’s diverse communities. To fulfill this vision, ACMC will:

• Demonstrate excellence in clinical quality and service.

• Become the preferred health care employer in Alameda County.

• Develop clinical programs that advance the health of Alameda County residents.

• Foster a culture of innovative, efficient, and customer-oriented care.

• Develop partnerships to provide a continuum of services responsive to the community.

• Provide compassionate and culturally sensitive care.

• Support graduate medical education and other teaching programs appropriate to our scope
  of services.

• Provide contemporary facilities and technology that support high quality health care.

Brief History

The integrated health care system known today as Alameda County Medical Center started in 1864, when the first patient was admitted to the Alameda County Infirmary, on the site of the present-day Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro. For many years, Fairmont provided both acute and long term care, and housed many tuberculosis patients, as well as providing residence to individuals with developmental disabilities. In the 1920's, Fairmont opened the first public rehabilitation facility in the U.S. west of the Mississippi.

Also in the 1920s, Alameda County Supervisors recognized the need for an acute care hospital for indigent patients in the growing community of Oakland. Highland Hospital opened its doors in 1927, offering comprehensive services in a teaching hospital environment. For many years, Highland also operated its own School of Nursing. In the 1960's, Alameda County responded to trends in health care by launching Ambulatory Health Care Services, a chain of neighborhood-based health clinics. Today, three of those sites are part of ACMC. In the 1980's the AIDS epidemic took center stage. Fairmont Hospital was the first hospital in the East Bay to offer AIDS services in 1984.

Around that time, Highland's Psychiatric program outgrew its space on that campus. A new acute Psychiatric hospital opened in the quiet hills of San Leandro, just above Fairmont Hospital, in 1992. That campus is named John George Psychiatric Pavilion, in honor of County Supervisor John George, a steadfast and courageous champion for the mentally ill.

In the 1990's Alameda County Medical Center was formed by the merger of Fairmont Hospital with Highland/John George, later combining into a single organization with the ambulatory care clinics. In 1998 governance of the Medical Center passed from Alameda County Supervisors to the Board of Trustees of the newly-formed Alameda County Hospital Authority. The Hospital Authority holds the hospital license, and engages with Alameda County, other levels of government, and numerous public and private entities to guarantee access to high quality health care for all Alameda County residents.