St. John’s Health Center Receives $20-Million Gift

St. John’s Health Center has received a $20-million donation to help rebuild its earthquake-damaged facility, hospital officials said.

The W.M. Keck Foundation, which made the gift, also had given the hospital $10 million after the Northridge earthquake in 1994, said hospital official Ruben Mettler.

Donated funds will be added to a $270-million reconstruction phase that is scheduled to be completed by 2005.

St. John’s, which was built in the 1940s, was closed for six months after the ’94 quake.

Robert A. Day, president of the Keck Foundation, said the grant is a strategic investment for St. John’s and the surrounding community.

“St. John’s new campus will be an advanced medical and clinical setting with superior seismic safety,” Day said. “It will be better able than ever before to fulfill its unique mission to bringing the finest quality health care to the Westside.”