About Cottage Health

At Cottage Health, we believe in hiring the best people and empowering them, so they want to spend their careers with us. Our people are the reason we excel.

Our highly ranked Total Rewards program is designed to recognize employee contributions and support employees as they live out our mission, vision and values each day. A sense of community is a common thread that runs throughout our entire organization. Our core values of excellence, integrity and compassion unify and guide us in everything we do.

A History of Excellence

For more than 130 years, Cottage Health has been providing advanced medical care for patients throughout California. Today, our nationally recognized services provide families with the patient-centered care they deserve. Our success is measured by the health of the entire community.

Group of nurses sitting in front of Cottage Hospital circa 1888

In 1888, a group of 50 Santa Barbara women recognized it was time for the growing community to have a hospital — a not-for-profit facility dedicated to the well-being and good health of all residents.

Our mission is to serve our community with excellence, integrity, and compassion. Every day we touch thousands of lives, resolute in our mission to put patients first. We take pride in helping our patients get back to living their lives - in the places they love.

Our Doors Have Never Closed

Since its official opening on December 8, 1891, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital has never closed its doors. Caring for patients through challenging times — the 1918 flu epidemic, the 1925 earthquakes, various floods and fires, and the COVID-19 pandemic — we’ve also been privileged to share some of the brightest moments, welcoming tens of thousands of babies into the community.

Proud to Work at Cottage Health

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Circa 1888

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital: 125 Years of Service

The people who work with and are served by Cottage Health share their experiences, and reflect on how Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital has helped to shape the community for 125 years.

Living Moments: Carissa's Family Connection to Cottage

Carissa Guzman says that nursing is just a part of who she is, and traces that back through three generations of her family, beginning with her great-grandmother. Now, she shares her skills as a Registered Nurse with the pediatric patients at Cottage Children's Medical Center.

Living Moments: Laura's Gift of Life

When Laura Biscaro was born, it was unclear whether or not she would survive. Through the expert care at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, she was able to grow up and become a nurse. Now, she is helping the homeless community get the care they need at Cottage Health.

Living Moments: Christina's Nursing Inspiration

When she was a young girl, tragedy struck Christina Valdivia's family when her uncle was involved in a serious accident. The dedication of the nursing team at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital helped to save her uncle's life, and inspired Christina to pursue a career in medicine.

Volunteering at Cottage Health

We welcome and encourage volunteers at Cottage Health. If you have four hours a week to commit, you can help in many valuable ways, whether you are retired, working or still in school. Junior volunteers can be as young as 14 if they are in high school. Dedication and a desire to help is all we ask.

Our volunteers exhibit our core values of excellence, integrity and compassion. To learn more about volunteer opportunities, visit cottagehealth.org/volunteer

Volunteers at Cottage Health

Exceptional Care

Our list of awards, accreditations and designations is long and distinguished. We take great pride in the national recognition we have received as an employer. In 2021, Cottage Health was ranked #19 for Best Places to Work in Health Care 2021 by Fortune & Great Places to Work. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital has been named to Newsweek’s annual list of best hospitals.

Our medical staff of more than 600 physicians includes specialists in all major clinical areas, many of whom participate in the training and education of some of the top medical residents in the country in our internal medicine, general surgery, radiology and pediatrics residency programs.

Our individual hospitals have received 5-star CMS ratings and our specialty services have been repeatedly recognized nationally for excellence.