1858, Dr. Elias S. Cooper organizes the first medical school in the West with a charter from the University of the Pacific. Upstairs from Dr. Cooper’s office at Mission and Third, six physicians teach 13 students. In six years, 28 men complete the 18-week course.

1862, Dr. Cooper’s nephew, Dr. Levi Cooper Lane takes over the medical school after Dr. Cooper’s death. The faculty eventually join the rival Toland Medical School that opens in 1864 (later becoming the department of medicine of University of California).

1870, Dr. Lane and colleagues leave Toland Medical School and reopen their own school at Sacramento and Webster, the Medical College of the Pacific.

1882, Dr. Lane and colleagues launch Cooper Medical College at Sacramento and Webster. The building is built for $125,000 with Dr. Lane’s own funds. Lane Hall, the imposing medical lecture hall, is added in 1890.

1899, eleven out of 45 (25%) of the Cooper Medical College graduating class are women.

1895, Lane Hospital opens as a charitable care center at Clay and Webster.

1908, Cooper Medical College becomes the department of medicine of Stanford University.  Stanford University School of Medicine commences instruction in 1909.

1917, Stanford Hospital opens at 2351 Clay for private pay patients who are able to select their own physicians.

1953, the Board of Trustees of Stanford University makes the decision to move the medical school to the new Palo Alto campus. Donald Tresidder, 4th president of Stanford University until his sudden myocardial infarction in 1948, strongly supports rebuilding the medical school in San Francisco. His successor John E. W. Sterling, just as strongly wants to consolidate Stanford University on a single campus in Palo Alto.

1954, Dr. Frank Gerbode performs the first open heart surgery west of the Mississippi,¹ and develops with Dr. John J. Osborn (described the “Osborn wave” as a medical student)² and engineer Mogens L. “Bram” Bramson one of the first clinically successful rotating disc-type membrane oxygenator Heart-Lung Machines.^3,4

1959, Stanford University moves its medical school to Palo Alto. Most physicians remain at the San Francisco Stanford Hospital, including Dr. Gerbode, and keep clinics and wards open with volunteer support. Dr. Arthur Selzer (trained with Dr. Paul Wood at the Postgraduate Medical School of London) develops the Division of Cardiology as an extension of his practice, rather than as a university subdivision, and starts the training of fellows as an extension of the Division (birth of the cardiology fellowship program).

1960, a contract is signed transferring all equipment, buildings and land to a new nonprofit corporation sponsored by the Presbytery of San Francisco, and the complex becomes Presbyterian Medical Center.

1965, Dr. Osborn and Dr. Gerbode, with support from IBM, develop and implement the first computerized cardiopulmonary intensive care unit in the country.^1,5

1967, Presbyterian Medical Center becomes Pacific Medical Center.

1973, the new $22,500,000 Presbyterian Hospital (current Pacific Campus building) is completed. Cooper Medical Building and Lane Hospital are demolished in 1974.

1983, Presbyterian Medical Center becomes Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center.

1984, Dr. J. Donald Hill, protégé of Dr. Gerbode, performs the nation’s first heart transplant outside of a university research setting.

1986, Dr. Hill performs the first bridge to transplantation using a ventricular assist device and continues to pioneer VAD technology (founder of Thoratec).⁶

1991, PPMC joins Children’s Hospital (founded in 1875) to become California Pacific Medical Center. With the addition of Ralph K. Davies Medical Center (established in 1858) in 1998, and St. Luke’s Hospital (established in 1871) in 2007, CPMC becomes the largest private medical center in Northern California.

1996, CPMC joins Sutter Health of Sacramento, creating Sutter Health, the second largest integrated health-care system in Northern California.

2018, the Mission Bernal campus opens.

2019, the Van Ness campus opens.

1. Bull DA, Fann JI. Historical perspective of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery: Frank Gerbode (1907-1984). J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2013;146:1317.
2. Osborn JJ. Experimental hypothermia: respiratory and blood pH changes in relation to cardiac function. Am J Physiol. 1953;175:389.
3. Osborn, JJ, Bramson ML, Gerbode F.  A rotating disc blood oxygenator and integral heat exchanger of improved inherent efficiency. J Thorac Surg. 1960;39:427.
4. Melrose DG. Types of Heart-Lung Machines used in extra-corporeal circulation. Postgrad Med J. 1961:37:639.
5. Gerbode F. Computerized monitoring of seriously ill patients. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1973;66:167.
6. Hill JD. Bridging to cardiac transplantation. Ann Thorac Surg. 1989;47:167.