Stanford University School of Medicine traces it origin back to 1858, founded by Dr. Elias Samuel Cooper, a successful surgeon from Peoria, IL, who dreamed of opening the first medical college on the west coast. Cooper Medical College was acquired by Stanford University in 1908 with the requirement that it focus on medical research.

In 1968, Stanford University assumed complete ownership of the Palo Alto - Stanford Hospital. Stanford University has aggressively expanded the facilities since then to include:

• The Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine
• The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
• The Richard M. Lucas Center for Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Imaging
• The Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research

Stanford Health Care shares the leading edge of healthcare information and service

• The SCOPE blog publicizes the latest advances in health and medicine
• The Stanford Health Library provides research services.
• Lectures and events are recorded for their YouTube channel.
• Patient education materials are translated into many languages, and non-patients can get access by request: healthlibrary@stanfordhealthcare.org.