Formerly know as Downey Hospital, Downey Regional Medical Center started operation with six beds and two physicians, in October 1920. The hospital was located on the second floor of the former Downey Hotel on Downey Avenue which was just a dirt road by then. The following year there was a change of management and so the name of the hospital was also changed and became known as Virginia Hospital. Two years before it opened, a violent explosion at a popular service station that injured over 20 people and caused 9 fatalities was evidence for the need of a larger hospital. In 1924, Virginia Hospital repositioned to 5th street and became Downey Community Hospital. During the following 20 years, the facility and the staff expanded in order to fulfill the needs of the growing population (a 24/7 emergency department was opened in that time). Plans for the construction for a new private, non-profit hospital started in 1964.
Five years later Downey Community Hospital moved to Brookshire Avenue changing its name to Downey Regional Medical Center. The hospital continues to expand in order to offer quality healthcare to the growing community. DRMC is recognized as a premiere healthcare facility in Southeast Los Angeles County for its use of the latest technology and the skills of its staff. Some of the hospital services that can be found at Downey Regional Medical Center are: the Emergency Care Center designed to tend to the needs of all patients featuring the latest in emergency care and with board-certified emergency physicians and nurses specially trained in emergency care. The Home Care program helps patients with chronic illnesses or in need of transitional care, offering a wide range of nursing, medical and rehabilitative care. The Surgical Care service offers advanced surgical equipment and caring environment giving surgical treatment to more than 6,500 patients a year.