[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 182 (Monday, December 7, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING THE GUILDS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 7, 2009

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
Guilds of Children's Hospital Central California upon 60 years of 
community service, philanthropy, and advocacy for the hospital. The 
Guilds will celebrate their 60th anniversary on Thursday, November 12, 
2009, in Fresno, California.
  In 1949 five women, Agnes Crockett, Gail Goodwin, Helen Maupin Ross, 
Carolyn Peck and Patty Randall, recognized a common need for a 
dedicated pediatric hospital in California's San Joaquin Valley. As the 
five women moved forward with their vision, they realized this would 
need to be a community project, and the idea of a ``guild'' system 
emerged. Since then, the Guilds have had two primary objectives; to 
raise financial support and to develop ongoing community support for 
Children's Hospital Central California.
  On January 28, 1949, the first public meeting was held to discuss a 
``hospital for children only.'' By September the first Guild, Llanada 
Guild, was established and the initial fundraiser for Valley Children's 
Hospital was held. With Mrs. T. Wayne Simpson as President, Llanada 
Guild raised $5,477 at a fundraiser held at Giffen Ranch. In just 2 
years, the Guild had raised well over $3,000.
  On September 12, 1951, a ground breaking ceremony for the hospital 
was held. It was through the fundraising efforts of the original Guilds 
that Valley Children's Hospital was constructed in Fresno, California 
on donated land. Fourteen months after the ground breaking ceremony, 
Valley Children's Hospital was open for patients. The first patient, a 
young girl with a stomach ache was admitted on November 12, 1952, and 
the first surgery performed at the hospital was an appendectomy on the 
young girl.
  During the early 1990s Valley Children's Hospital started the plans 
for a new, state-of-the-art facility. After settling on a 50-acre site 
in Madera County, just north of the Madera-Fresno County line, planning 
and construction of the new facility took almost a decade. For almost 
50 years, Valley Children's Hospital provided medical and emergency 
services to children through out the San Joaquin Valley at the same 
facility. On August 31, 1998, at 1 minute past midnight, the move to 
the new facility began and the new hospital was renamed Children's 
Hospital Central California.
  Today, Children's Hospital has a service area that covers 10 counties 
in central California. The hospital treats more inpatient cases than 
any other pediatric hospital north of San Diego, making this hospital 
the second largest children's hospital in the State of California. It 
is a 338 bed facility, and is 1 of the 10 largest hospitals of its type 
in the Nation. The hospital performs over 9,000 surgeries annually. The 
Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Units have some of the lowest 
mortality rates in the nation, while treating some of the sickest 
children. The Craycroft Cancer Center at Children's Hospital is a full 
member of the nationally recognized Children's Oncology Group, and sees 
more than 100 new cases every year. The Wilson Heart Center has 
pioneered cardiac care for half a century, and performed one of the 
first open-heart surgeries in the area. It is also the first pediatric 
hospital west of the Rocky Mountains to be awarded Magnet Nursing 
status and received re-designation in 2008.
  With the vision and ingenuity of the first five women, the Guilds 
have helped to make Children's Hospital what it is today. For the past 
60 years the Guilds have been the largest financial contributor to the 
hospital, raising almost $22 million. The hospital has used these funds 
to expand both services and the hospital. In June 2009, the Guilds 
voted to support the largest single donation to the hospital, a $4 
million commitment for the continuation of the Guilds Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Endowment. In 60 years funds have been raised 
through the fundraising efforts of all of the Guilds; Llanada 
(established 1949, disbanded), Kings (established 1949), La Feliz 
(established 1949), Los Rancheros (established 1949), Pleasant Valley 
(established 1949, disbanded), Alegria (established 1950), Corcoran 
(established 1950, disbanded), Las Madrinas (established 1950), Panoche 
(established 1950, disbanded), Rio Reyes (established 1950, disbanded), 
Sequoia (established 1950), Tenaya (established 1950), La Caridad 
(established 1951, disbanded), La Tienda (established 1952), Holiday 
(established 1953), La Comida (established 1953), Children's Service 
(established 1950s, disbanded), Los Ninos (established 1950s, 
disbanded), Selma (established 1950s, disbanded), Las Amigas 
(established 1950s, disbanded), La Sierra (established 1999), La 
Visionaria (established 2007), Del Corazon (established 2008) and Los 
Ninos Hispanic (established 2008).
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate the Guilds of 
Children's Hospital Central California on 60 years of giving. I invite 
my colleagues to join me in wishing the Guilds many years of continued 
success.

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