Mee Memorial Hospital

Last updated
Mee Memorial Hospital
Mee Memorial Healthcare System
Mee Memorial Hospital
Geography
Location300 Canal St. King City, CA 93930, Monterey County, CA, California, United States
Coordinates 36°12′23″N121°07′57″W / 36.20648°N 121.13240°W / 36.20648; -121.13240
Organization
Care system Private
Type Community
Services
Beds73
History
Opened1962
Links
Website MeeMemorial.com
Lists Hospitals in California

Mee Memorial Hospital is located in King City, California in Southern Monterey County. Built in 1962, it is named after rancher George L. Mee. The land was donated by Dr. L. M. Andrus who served on the original board of directors. Mee Memorial is the core of the Mee Memorial Healthcare System which includes several clinics servicing the rural community including Greenfield, CA. Mee is the only hospital within a 50-mile radius.

Contents

History

In 1960 the projected costs of the 46-bed hospital were one million dollars. A federal-state grant of $600,000 and $300,000 were raised locally. Founder of the (current in 1960) 72-bed, King City Hospital, Dr. L. M. Andrus, donated a six-acre tract on Canal street and bids for construction were opened in December 1960. [1]

Myrtle Mee and Tom P. Mee, widow and son of rancher George L. Mee auctioned off over 400 cows, calves, heifers, yearlings and bulls with the proceeds to be donated for construction of the new Southern Monterey County Hospital in King City, California. The herd, called "Mashed O" had been bred starting in 1949 and was an award-winning herd. The herd was auctioned off in 1960 with the Mee family guaranteeing at least $150,000 towards the construction of the hospital. Tom Mee asked that the hospital be named after his late father George L. Mee, which the board agreed to. [2]

In July 1962 as the hospital neared completion a volunteer auxiliary was organized. An election of officers and orientations on hospital ethics were scheduled in the community. [3] First president of the Auxiliary was Mrs. Emil Meyer, Mrs. Lestr Smart was vice president, Mrs. James V. Pettitt secretary and Mrs. John Turner was appointed treasurer. Dr. Andrus served on the board of directors. [4] Room rates were decided on by the trustees based on comparable rates, $30 for a private room, $24 for a pediatric bed, nursery $8. Comparable rates in California were $34.91 for a private room. [5]

Mee Hospital opened October 1, 1962, transferring patients from the old King City hospital (Southern Monterey County Memorial Hospital) in a maneuver called "Operation Switchover". In preparation for the transition elective surgeries were postponed. The old King City hospital once closed down would be renovated and become a rest home called Pioneer Hacienda. [6]

At the grand opening of the hospital in 1962, the Fort Ord Army band served as the musical entertainment while local dignitaries did the ribbon cutting. [7]

By 1972 the hospital staffed 75 full and part-time employees. [8]

Other Monterey County hospitals, Natividad Medical Center, Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula included Mee Memorial into a regional Medi-Cal managed care health plan in 1998. This would allow the hospitals to "lean on together, instead of competing against each other". [9]

Post 2000

In 2000 the hospital expanded again, adding additional hospital space, new surgical suite, labor and delivery rooms, a new emergency department, a new main entrance, remodeled skilled nursing rooms and imaging department, expanded beds and added 20,000 square feet of space for future growth. The cost for the new expansion was $9 million and was spurred on because the US Senate required hospitals to meet earthquake safety standards by 2008, the 1962 building did not meet those standards. The 2000 remodel expanded the hospital to 56,000 square feet. [10]

A 2006 expansion project doubled the patient capacity to 130 beds. In the 2000 construction the hospital had been built two-story but until 2006 only the first floor had been used. [11]

The Covid-19 pandemic hit all Monterey County hospitals hard, by May 2020, Mee had laid off 55, reducing staff to about 300 people. Chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Valladares stated that if Mee had stopped elective surgeries "it would have had to close". According to Valladares, Mee does elective surgeries on a smaller scale than the bigger hospitals, "more pain procedures". Stimulus funds from the CARES Act were based on Medicare cost reports so Mee did not receive "near enough stimulus funds". [12]

Vaccinations during COVID were made more challenging because "[M]any are migrant farmworkers of indigenous Mexican heritage who speak neither Spanish or English, but native languages such as Mixteco and Triqui". According to the director of outpatient clinics Heidi Pattison, "[P]roviding interpreter services was instrumental in getting people vaccinated". Over 187 clinics were held to administer vaccines. [13]

Justice with Health book program

Mee physician Joshua Deutsch designed ten children's books called Justice with Health that target farmworker families with illustrations of "characters of indigenous and Latin American descent". The books address nutrition, family relationships, physical activity, and medical descriptions such as "Parts of the Body". Because the books are aimed at communities with low levels of literacy, some of the books are wordless. Written by Deutsch and illustrated by Jess Marie Soriano, the 2021 launch gave out 18,000 books to "Mee Memorial, Natividad Hospital, Alisal clinic and Touro Medical School". [14]

Mee Memorial Healthcare System

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monterey, California</span> City in California, United States

Monterey is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both Spain (1804–1821) and Mexico (1822–1846). During this period, Monterey hosted California's first theater, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing press, and newspaper. It was originally the only port of entry for all taxable goods in California. In 1846, during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848, the United States Flag was raised over the Customs House. After Mexico ceded California to the U.S. at the end of the war, Monterey hosted California's first constitutional convention in 1849.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Durell Stone</span> American architect (1902–1978)

Edward Durell Stone was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India, The Keller Center at the University of Chicago, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenfield, California</span> City in California, United States

Greenfield is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. Formerly Clarke Colony, it lies in the Salinas Valley, 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 289 feet (88 m). As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,937, up from 16,330 in the 2010 census. Its most well-known public event is the annual Harvest Festival. Greenfield is a member of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King City, California</span> City in California, United States

King City is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located on the Salinas River 51 miles (82 km) southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 335 feet (102 m). It lies along U.S. Route 101 in the Salinas Valley of California's Central Coast. King City is a member of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. The population was 13,332 at the 2020 census, up from 12,874 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinas, California</span> City in California, United States

Salinas is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area located along the eastern limits of the Monterey Bay Area, lying just south of the San Francisco Bay Area and 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley, about eight miles (13 km) from the Pacific Ocean, and it has a climate more influenced by the ocean than the interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles</span> Archdiocese in California

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. The archdiocese's cathedra is in Los Angeles, the archdiocese comprises the California counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and its present archbishop is José Horacio Gómez Velasco. With over five million professing members and weekly liturgies celebrated in 32 languages, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is numerically the single largest and most ethnically diverse archdiocese in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's College Hospital</span> Hospital in London , England

King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It serves an inner city population of 700,000 in the London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, but also serves as a tertiary referral centre in certain specialties to millions of people in southern England. It is a large teaching hospital and is, with Guy's Hospital and St. Thomas' Hospital, the location of King's College London School of Medicine and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. The chief executive is Dr Clive Kay. It is also the birthplace of Queen Camilla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinas Valley</span> Valley in Monterey County, California, U.S.

The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park</span> National historical park in Richmond, California, US

Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park is a United States national historical park located in Richmond, California, near San Francisco. The park preserves and interprets the legacy of the United States home front during World War II, including the Kaiser Richmond Shipyards, the Victory ship SS Red Oak Victory, a tank factory, housing developments and other facilities built to support America's entry into World War II. In particular, the role of women and African-Americans in war industries is explored and honored.

California's 18th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by Democrat Zoe Lofgren. Since the 2022 election, the district is landlocked and includes all of San Benito County and parts of Santa Clara and Monterey counties, including Salinas, Hollister, Watsonville, Gilroy, Soledad, and downtown and eastern San Jose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wellington Hospital, New Zealand</span> Hospital in Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington Hospital, also known as Wellington Regional Hospital, is the main hospital in Wellington, New Zealand, located south of the city centre in the suburb of Newtown. It is the main hospital run by Te Whatu Ora, Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrey Memorial Hospital</span> Hospital in British Columbia, Canada

Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) is a publicly funded hospital owned and operated by Fraser Health in the city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, adjacent to King George Boulevard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollister High School (California)</span> Free public school in the United States

Hollister High School (HHS) is a school in Hollister, California, United States. It serves as the primary high school for Hollister city residents and most county residents and is within the San Benito High School District. The school's enrollment is approximately 3,400 students, served by 250 faculty and staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital</span> Medical Center in Salinas, California

The Salinas Valley Health Medical Center is a public district medical center in Salinas, California. Originally built in 1953, Salinas Valley Health Medical Center has 263 medical center beds and 1,800+ employees and primarily serves residents of the Salinas Valley. The medical center has partnered with local organizations such as NASA.

Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) was founded in 1934 and is located at 23625 Holman Highway in Monterey, California. The hospital has 258 acute care beds and 28 skilled-nursing beds. CHOMP has 15 locations, including the main hospital, outpatient facilities, satellite laboratories, a mental health clinic, a short-term nursing facility, and business offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarawak General Hospital</span> Hospital in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Sarawak General Hospital is the largest general hospital in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is one out of two main tertiary and referral hospitals in East Malaysia. In its earlier years, it was known as Kuching General Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal Medical Center of New York</span>

The Animal Medical Center of New York is a non profit animal hospital in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred J. Hart (businessman)</span> American alternative medicine practitioner (1888–1976)

Fred J. Hart was an American alternative medicine practitioner, farmer and businessman. Hart owned KQW AM in San Jose, CA. He was active in the field of radionics, was president of the Electronic Medical Foundation until the American Medical Association and Food and Drug Administration shut the Foundation down for false medical claims. Hart then established the National Health Federation (NHF) in 1955 advocating for "health freedom", which critics say "has little interest in scientifically recognized methods". The AMA called Hart a quack and his treatment quackery, a claim that Hart himself used with pride.

The Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital often shortened to Shoalhaven Hospital is a public hospital serving the City of Shoalhaven in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Shoalhaven River 1 km (0.62 mi) from the Nowra CBD. The secondary health care facility is the main acute care hospital for the region, serving a population of over 100,000. The hospital is operated by the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District In the 2009–2010 financial year, SDMH handled 21,193 hospitalisations. It is also affiliated with the University of Wollongong and University of New South Wales as a teaching hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natividad Hospital</span> Hospital in California, USA

NatividadHospital commonly referred to as just Natividad is a 172-bed acute-care teaching hospital located in Salinas, California. The hospital is owned and operated by Monterey County and the hospital's emergency department receives approximately 52,000 visits per year.

References

  1. ↑ "Sign of Progress". The Californian. December 31, 1960. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "George Mee's Mashed O Herd Dispersion Will Aid Memorial Hospital Construction". Salinas, CA: The Californian. July 23, 1960. p. 17. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mee Hospital Auxiliary to Be Organized". The Californian. July 19, 1962. p. 13. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Auxiliary Formed for Mee Hospital". The Californian. July 26, 1962. p. 13. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Room Rates Are Set for KC Hospital". The Californian. August 23, 1962. p. 13. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. ↑ "Mee Hospital to Open at King City Next Monday". The Californian. September 27, 1962. p. 17. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Hospital Drive Hits $55,000". The Californian. September 4, 1962. p. 11. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Avitre, Myrna (December 21, 1972). "Mee Hospital's Growth WAs Founded on Cowhide". The Californian. p. 15. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  9. ↑ Hong, Jennifer (October 16, 1998). "King City hospital ready to join regional managed care plan". The Californian. p. 1. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  10. ↑ Rivera, Janice (August 29, 2000). "King City hospital expanding". The Californian. p. 17. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Hospital Grows to Meet County Needs". The Californian. February 21, 2006. p. 33. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  12. ↑ Szydlowski, Joe (May 30, 2020). "Massive changes underway". The Californian. p. A4. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  13. ↑ McKenzie, Kathryn (January 2022). "Meet Mee". No. Health Matters. Monterey Herald. pp. 12, 14.
  14. ↑ "King City doctor launches Justice with Health's clinic book program". MeeMemorial.com. Mee Memorial. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.