[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 20, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 2009

  Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the 75th 
anniversary of Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, or CHOMP, 
as the locals fondly call it. It started in 1929 as the Carmel Clinic 
specializing in metabolic disorders, endowed by a gift from Grace Deere 
Velie Harris, heiress of the Deere tractor family. Over the years it 
grew into a 30-bed general hospital and in 1934 was renamed Peninsula 
Community Hospital.
  Post World War II saw an increase in the population on the Monterey 
Peninsula. Twenty-two acres of the nearby forest was donated by the Del 
Monte Properties Company as a building site for a larger, modern 
hospital. In 1962 the new $3.5 million 210,000-square foot Community 
Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula opened with 100 beds, the first 
community hospital in the country to have all private rooms. The design 
by architect Edward Durell Stone won state and national awards for 
excellence in architecture. Two-thirds of the funding came from 
community donations.
  CHOMP continued to expand; over the next 10 years 72 more rooms were 
added, including a mental health center, and a dome was constructed 
over the signature Fountain Court. The cost of the construction was $4 
million, and again, half of it was paid for by contributions from the 
community.
  The hospital developed a growing range of services that added 42,000 
square feet to house outpatient, educational, and business offices. A 
new outpatient Surgery Center began performing more than half of all 
the hospital's surgeries. A Family Birth Center opened with single-room 
maternity care. Home health agencies were acquired, as well as a 
hospice facility and services. The Comprehensive Cancer Center opened 
in 1999, providing the best available diagnosis, treatment, and support 
for cancer patients and their families.
  CHOMP also added off-campus sites to meet the expanding demands of 
health care on the Peninsula. The old Eskaton Monterey Hospital, built 
in 1930 and acquired by CHOMP in 1982, was remodeled. Renamed the 
Hartnell Professional Center, it now houses outpatient mental health 
services, a recovery center, a cardiopulmonary wellness and blood 
center, laboratories, and the Clint Eastwood Youth Program. A Breast 
Care Center opened near downtown Monterey, offering comprehensive 
breast care services, and an Outpatient Campus that treats sleep 
disorders, and offers diabetes and nutrition therapy, imaging, and 
laboratories.
  In recent years the emergency and ICU departments were updated and 
moved to a new wing. CHOMP continues to expand and improve with the 
times to meet the needs of the community.
  Throughout the years, CHOMP has served the entire spectrum of 
hospital health care needs of my family. My parents received their end-
of-life care there. Both my wife and I have received care there, and 
both my daughter and granddaughter were born there. It truly is our 
community hospital.
  Madam Speaker, I know the whole House joins me in congratulating 
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula on its anniversary, and 
wish them many more years of quality service to the public.

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