From the first treatment rooms of the 1860s to the bedsides of today, the Seventh-day Adventist health ministry has always sought to be first in acts of service, pioneering whole-person care for the body, mind and spirit long before the world had a name for it. On Aug. 30, 2026, Adventist Health opened the next chapter of that story: all 27 hospitals and more than 440 clinics across California, Oregon and Hawaii now share a single, connected health record through Epic, the largest technology implementation in the health system's history.
The calling behind it is far older than the technology. For more than 160 years, Adventists have understood healthcare as the right arm of the gospel, a practical ministry of healing that opens hearts and serves communities. In that same pioneering spirit, Adventist Health is not the first health system to use AI within Epic, but it is the first in the U.S. to adopt this level of AI integration, going live with more of Epic's AI-powered capabilities in a single Go-Live event than any health system before it. The purpose is deliberate: These tools do not replace the provider, the clinician or the chaplain. They quietly handle the paperwork so that the healer can be fully present with the patient, just as this ministry has always intended.
For those who wonder what artificial intelligence means for the human side of medicine, the answer at Adventist Health is simple: Every decision about care rests with a person. No algorithm can hold a hand, hear a prayer or sit with a family, and that sacred work belongs to people, as it always will. The technology exists so that caregivers have more time for exactly that ministry of presence.
“This is, at its heart, about people and technology in service of them,” said Kerry L. Heinrich, Adventist Health CEO and president. “When a patient’s full story lives in one place, we can care for them more safely and with deeper compassion. And when the technology handles the busywork, we give our clinicians and staff back what matters most, time to be fully present with the people they serve.”
To mark the moment, Adventist Health gathered its entire family of more than 38,000 associates, providers and volunteers on Aug. 28, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific for a live-streamed service of dedication led by Heinrich, setting apart the new system for God's service and giving thanks for the years of work that carried it to completion.
“Every generation of this ministry has dedicated its tools to God, from the first hydrotherapy rooms to today's operating rooms and now to the technology that connects them all,” said Sam Leonor, Adventist Health chief mission officer. “As we gathered, 38,000 strong, we recognized the hand of God in this next chapter of patient care. The instruments change. The calling never has: to make people whole, in the healing ministry of Christ.”
For patients across Adventist Health's more than 100 communities, the change means their care team sees their full story in one place, improving safety, coordination and the experience of care behind more than 5 million patient encounters and 3 million clinic visits each year. Patients can connect with their care team through a single MyChart account at AdventistHealth.org/mychart.
Most of all, the experience of care becomes more personal: Patients tell their story once, their information travels with them from clinic to hospital to home and every caregiver they meet already knows their journey.
The transition reflects Adventist Health's mission of living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope, and the faithfulness of the generations, from Battle Creek to the West Coast and Hawaii, who built a ministry of healing one act of service at a time.
Adventist Health is grateful to its associates, providers, clinicians, super users and support teams for the extensive preparation behind this historic transition.
About Adventist Health
Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit, integrated health system serving more than 100 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii with more than 440 sites of care, including 27 acute care facilities. Founded on Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in hospitals, clinics, home care and hospice agencies in both rural and urban communities. Adventist Health's compassionate and talented team of more than 38,000 includes employees, physicians, medical staff and volunteers driven in pursuit of one mission: living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. They are committed to staying true to their heritage by providing patient-centered, quality care. Together, they are transforming the healthcare experience with an innovative and whole-person focus on physical, mental, spiritual and social healing to support community well-being.
