The hospital was founded in 1955 by Dr. Frederick Gruneck as a 49-bed hospital with one emergency room . In 1979 Northridge Hospital and Valley Hospital in Van Nuys created a joint parent company – HealthWest . HealthWest expanded to become a multi-hospital nonprofit . In 1988 , HealthWest merged with the Lutheran Hospital Society of Southern California , the parent company of California Hospital Medical Center , to form UniHealth . The hospital was at the epicenter of the 1994 Northridge earthquake , but remained open to treat over 1,000 patients in the 48 hours following the earthquake . In 1995 , Valley Hospital was merged into Northridge Hospital . UniHealth struggled financially in the 1990s after acquiring physician groups in difficulties , and in 1998 , UniHealth sold its hospitals to Catholic Healthcare West . CHW became Dignity Health in 2012
1994 Northridge earthquake
1994 Northridge earthquake
Northridge Hospital Medical Center