SAC Health Opens $85M San Bernardino Healthcare Campus with $10M Tribal Gift, Expanding Care for Underserved Communities

SAC Health marked a milestone Sept. 18 with the ribbon-cutting of its new Brier Campus, a 280,000-square-foot facility leaders say will transform healthcare access for the Inland Empire’s most vulnerable populations.

Located at 1003 E. Brier Drive, the $85 million project expands SAC Health’s footprint with more than 40 specialty services, including family medicine, pediatrics, behavioral health, dental, OB-GYN, cardiology, and endocrinology. Officials say the integrated model will reduce barriers for Medi-Cal patients and the uninsured by offering multiple services under one roof.

The opening celebration was highlighted by a historic $10 million donation from the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation — the largest gift in SAC Health’s history. Tribal members blessed the event with bird singing, led by Assemblymember James Ramos, and presented a ceremonial check alongside Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena.

“This grant award to SAC Health is a critical investment in the Inland Empire region,” Valbuena said. “This region is chronically in a state of social and economic stress and providing access to quality healthcare for our vulnerable populations will uplift all people.”

For SAC Health CEO Dr. Jason Lohr, the new facility represents both a practical expansion and what he described as a series of miracles that made the project possible. He explained that during the height of COVID, the cost of new construction was prohibitive, and traditional banks declined to finance the project. A private family stepped in with an $85 million loan — a deal Lohr said was so unprecedented that the real estate attorney overseeing it remarked she had never seen anything like it in her 40-year career. “We knew then it was truly a God thing,” Lohr said.

Lohr added that the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation’s $10 million gift was equally pivotal. “It is the largest single gift we’ve ever received and allows us to expand services despite looming state and federal funding cuts,” he said. SAC Health currently serves 65,000 patients across 240,000 visits annually, and Lohr noted the Brier Campus will enable the clinic to reach significantly more people, including those who drive hours across Southern California for specialty care.

Executive Director of Philanthropy Mindy Silva said the Brier Campus reflects her personal journey and calling. Growing up in the Inland Empire, she faced chronic health issues including asthma and relied heavily on the care of attentive nurses and physicians — an experience that deepened her belief in healthcare as a necessity, not a privilege. After more than 20 years working in philanthropy across the region, Silva said her role at SAC Health allows her to merge her professional experience with her personal conviction. “Healthcare should be a universal right,” Silva said. “Ninety-seven percent of our patients are on Medi-Cal, while others are unhoused or uninsured. The Brier Campus will give them access to dentistry, behavioral health, and specialty care — services they might otherwise never receive.”

Silva emphasized that philanthropy makes this possible. She highlighted SAC Health’s Blessing Fund, which uses community donations to cover costs for patients who cannot afford care, and encouraged supporters to give “time, talents, or treasures” to sustain the mission. She also pointed to partnerships with Loma Linda University Health, Kaiser Permanente, and Inland Empire Health Plan as essential for ensuring continuous care. “Those collaborations ensure patients aren’t stuck in the system. Instead, care is comprehensive and local,” she said.

The Brier Campus was also intentionally designed to put patients at ease. “Patients often arrive in a state of panic or fear,” Silva said. “The calming, serene design reminds them they are in the best facilities, with the best physicians, receiving care they deserve.”

That sense of community responsibility was echoed by Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation tribal member Ken Ramirez. “We’re here to serve and to answer the call for care,” Ramirez said. “I encourage anyone here to be a partner to SAC Health, whether through philanthropy or your own skills — we want to include you in serving our mission in Christ.”

Local leaders including San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran joined the event, where attendees toured the new facility. SAC Health leaders said the campus will create up to 700 new jobs and is part of a broader expansion into the High Desert, Coachella Valley, and Riverside.

“This is our largest location yet, but not our last,” Silva said. “Every SAC Health employee who walks through the door leaves better than when they came. It’s truly a call to care.”