In 1827 in Dublin, Ireland, Catherine McAuley, a wealthy Irish heiress, began caring for poor women and children.

[4] The sisters collaborated with Oxnard's community of ranchers, farmers, doctors and business leaders to make the dream of a hospital a reality.

During the next 35 years, as community need grew, St. John's continued to expand the facility with the addition of two floors and ancillary areas.

[4] In 1958, a broadcasting console was constructed at the hospital under the direction of John F. Conroy, chief engineer, with components donated by Peter J.

[4] In 1985, Sister of Mercy Carmen Rodriguez opened the doors of St. John's Community Outreach Program, known today as Health Ministries.

[4] As Oxnard's population continued to rapidly grow, community leaders and hospital administrators recognized that a larger and more centrally located facility was necessary.

[10][11] In 2003, St. John's Regional Medical Center and St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital's community newsletter, which at the time was called Living Well, was presented with the prestigious Bronze award by HMR Publications Group, Inc. at the annual Healthcare Advertising Awards in the Newsletter category.

Additionally, St. John's Regional Medical Center was five-star rated for treatment of heart attack by HealthGrades.

In 2007, St. John's Regional Medical Center was honored with the HealthGrades Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award—given only to the top five percent of hospitals in the nation.

[12] In 2006, in a report released by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), St. John's Regional Medical Center earned a rating of Better in the first mandatory "California Report on Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery 2003 Hospital Data.

The award was presented to St. John's Public Relations and Communications Department as a result of its extensive community outreach effort to inform employees, physicians, patients and their families, neighbors, and the media of plans for the temporary suspension of hospital operations to successfully treat mold at St. John's Regional Medical Center in August 2007.