[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 162 (Wednesday, November 28, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2160]]
                TRIBUTE TO RIVERSIDE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 28, 2001

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Riverside 
Community Hospital, which will observe its 100th anniversary on 
December 2. For the past century, Riverside Community Hospital has been 
committed to delivering the very best healthcare to the people of 
Riverside and the Inland Empire.
  One hundred years ago, local physicians in Riverside, concerned by 
the lack of available healthcare facilities and the performance of 
surgeries in private homes, formed what would become Riverside 
Community Hospital. In a meeting at the home of Dr. C. Van Zwalenburg, 
these local physicians pledged their own money to convert a 12-room 
house at the southwest corner of Eleventh and Orange Streets as the 
first hospital.
  Shortly after the hospital opened, it was bursting at the seams and 
the construction of a new building was desperately needed. The citizens 
of Riverside generously provided much-needed financial assistance for 
the building's construction. In May 1904, a brand new two-story 
hospital building opened on Walnut Avenue, which would later become 
Brockton, between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets. The Riverside Daily 
Press described the new hospital as ``a handsome two-story building 
with pebble dash finish and a handsome pillared portico.''
  Over the last 100 years, Riverside Community Hospital has seen its 
community change quite a bit. When it first opened the area was full of 
orange groves and people from Los Angeles drove east to take in the 
winter sun. A lot has changed since then but one thing has remained 
constant, Riverside Community Hospital's dedication to its friends and 
neighbors.
  Riverside Community Hospital has demonstrated an ability to meet 
whatever challenges its faces: its staff has successfully adapted to a 
rapidly growing community; secured financial resources to meet the 
community's health demands; as well as, kept pace with scientific 
advances and technological changes.
  On behalf of the citizens of the 43rd congressional district of 
California, as well as the countless number of patients they have 
served, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and congratulations 
to the Riverside Community Hospital for their 100 years of outstanding 
service to the community.

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