From Howell Mountain to Mission-Driven Healthcare: Dr. Richard Chinnock Honored for Career of Service and Leadership

Over the decades, Pacific Union College has endeavored to offer an education that empowers and prepares students to make an undeniable, Christ-like impact on the world around them, wherever they may go upon leaving Howell Mountain.

Countless students-turned-alumni are shining examples of that spirit of service—one of those alums being Dr. Richard Chinnock.

Chinnock, ’78, was recently honored in April with the 2024 Shirley N. Pettis Award by Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH). The award recognized his work as a devoted pediatrician with more than 30 years of service at the hospital, impacting thousands of lives in the Inland Empire and far beyond.

This isn’t the first time Chinnock has been recognized for his incredible care. He also received the Outstanding Clinician Award from LLUCH in 2019 and is a Healing Hands Honoree.

Chinnock, who grew up in the Loma Linda and Redlands area, says he followed his then-girlfriend, now wife of 47 years—Ruthie (Wagner) Chinnock, ’78—to PUC. As the only one out of five siblings to attend his parents’ alma mater, Chinnock says his parents were thrilled. He ultimately had a great experience, meeting some of his best friends on the third floor of Grainger Hall, working as a lab assistant and TA in the chemistry department, and playing in the intramural leagues, among other things.

“PUC was magical for me,” he describes. “The campus is beautiful, the location is amazing. I just loved being there.”

Chinnock explains that the smaller PUC environment created a close-knit community and allowed him to better connect with his professors. “PUC is part of this Adventist ecosystem that fosters education and community,” he says. “You see people committed to Christ and committed to service and leadership in everything you do.”

Upon graduating from PUC with a degree in chemistry, Chinnock received a scholarship from the U.S. Navy. The scholarship financially paved the way for him to earn his medical degree at Loma Linda University’s School of Medicine in 1982. He later went on to earn a master’s degree in healthcare management from Harvard School of Public Health in 2013. 

After starting his pediatric career in a small navy hospital in South Carolina as one of two pediatricians, he took a call back to Loma Linda University Medical Center to join the heart transplant team—a role that would propel his career of service in Loma Linda. He would go on to serve as pediatric residency director, chair of pediatrics, and now chief medical officer for LLUCH. Additionally, he served in the Navy for 25 years before retiring with the rank of Navy Captain.

In the middle of Loma Linda’s campus is a statue of the Good Samaritan where Chinnock periodically stops, saying it helps him stay connected to a mindset of mission and service. “The concept of caring for your neighbor has really stuck with me. Helping to create a system that provides world-class care for my neighbors in the Inland Empire and beyond has been the most rewarding part of my career. I tell people, I hope you’re as lucky as I am. You find something you love to do and somebody you love to do it with.”

He encourages current PUC students to have fun, study hard, and find their why.

“I come to work every day wanting to be a tangible representation of God’s love for the world,” he explains. “If you can find your ‘why,’ that can make whatever you do fulfilling and worthwhile.”