[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 4 (Friday, January 13, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E13-E14]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF TUOLUMNE GENERAL HOSPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 13, 2012

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge that the last 
patient cared for by Tuolumne General Hospital (TGH), also known as the 
Tuolumne General Medical Facility, was transferred out on November 23, 
2011. With the transfer of that patient, a proud 162-year history of 
service to the residents of Tuolumne County was brought to an end.
  The beginning of Tuolumne General Hospital dates back to about 1849. 
Plans for a public hospital began on November 7, 1849, when the 
citizens of Sonora saw a need to establish a hospital for the sick and 
the destitute of the county. The first facility in Tuolumne County 
consisted of a canvas tent erected on the hill near the present 
courthouse in 1849. In November of that year, a wooden structure with a 
canvas roof was constructed to serve as a hospital at a cost of $542. 
Patients occupied berths along the walls and were nursed by a male 
steward who received $4 per day for his services.
  A hospital was established near the Roman Catholic Church in June, 
1851. Two months later, another hospital was established on Washington 
Street. No permanent arrangements had been made by the City or County 
for the care of indigent patients, until a law was enacted that 
authorized the County Board of Supervisors to levy a special tax to 
raise funds for the care of indigent persons.
  In 1854, with funds raised by the special tax, the County Board of 
Supervisors called for bids to provide hospital and medical services 
for indigent patients. The contract was awarded to Drs. William T. 
Browne and Thomas Kendall on their low bid of $25 per week, per 
patient. The bid price included furnishing the hospital facility, food, 
bedding, medicine, and their professional services.
  In 1856, the Board of Supervisors again called for bids to provide 
hospital and medical services. At that time, the state began to make 
funds available to counties for indigent care with the specification 
that any physicians employed were required to have medical degrees. As 
a result, the call for bids specified that the contracting physician 
had to be a ``graduate of a legally incorporated medical college.'' The 
new two-year contract was awarded to Dr. Francis Canton, a well-
educated French physician, and his associate, Dr. Georfe Manning, a 
fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The contract price 
was only $9 per week per patient, but it specified that the County 
would be responsible for the burial expense of unfortunate patients. In 
addition, the contracting doctors were allowed to take in private 
patients.
  In 1861, the County Supervisors decided to purchase their own 
hospital. A building was secured on the northwest corner of Lyons and 
Shepherd Streets, now part of the China Town parking lot. After a 
decade of use, the building was no longer suitable. In 1873, the County 
purchased the old Lewis C. Gunn residence located on the west side of 
South Washington Street. The building was remodeled and enlarged 
substantially and made suitable for patients according to the standards 
of that period. The most noted physician-in-charge was Dr. William 
Eikelroth. Dr. Eikelroth installed a hand pump on the only well near 
the hospital at his own expense (about $19) and then had to sue the 
County to get reimbursed. By the mid-1870's, water was made available 
to most parts of the hospital and facilities were installed where 
patients could take either hot or cold baths and wash their clothing 
and bedding.
  In 1897, a new county hospital was constructed at the south end of 
Sonora where the present TGH is located. Necessitated by Tuolumne 
County's second gold rush during the mid-1890's, most of the hospital's 
early facilities were geared for male occupants only. Females were 
generally cared for in private homes, although a facility for their 
care was operated on the north side of South Washington Street during a 
period when the county hospital was located in the old Gunn Building.
  Over the next 80 years the hospital continued to grow and in 1984, a 
major modernization project was completed which included the expansion 
of the Emergency Room, Radiology Department, Pharmacy, Intensive Care 
Unit, Recovery Room, and several support services. The next year, TGH 
started Health Promotion Programs and in 1987 the Adult Day Health Care 
Center opened, the Primary Care Clinics opened, and they began a 
Prenatal Program to serve the over 100 women per year that would not be 
seen by the OB/Gyn physicians. Additionally, the TGH Foundation was 
formed.
  During the 1990's, several additional changes took place: the first 
Satellite Adult Day Health Care Center in California was opened; Dr. 
Eric Runte was recruited as the first full-time physician director of 
the Primary Care Clinic; the hospital became affiliated with Visiting 
Home Nurses & Hospice of the Sierra; and the facility opened a Rehab 
Center in

[[Page E14]]

Groveland and began year-round low-cost mammography. In 1997, they 
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UC Davis Health System to 
form a partnership.
  On Tuesday, April 10, 2007, Tuolumne County's Board of Supervisors 
voted to close Tuolumne General Hospital's acute care services, hand 
off its clinics to a private operator, and phase out its psychiatric 
and long-term care units over the following three years. At midnight on 
June 30, 2007, Tuolumne General Hospital ceased all acute services. The 
name of the hospital changed to Tuolumne General Medical Facility. On 
March 4, 2008, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the 
Board of Supervisors and Avalon Healthcare to transfer the 42 Long Term 
Care residents to Avalon Healthcare, once they completed an addition to 
their existing facility.
  On January 2, 2009, the Acute Psychiatric Unit was closed. A new 
Memorandum of Understanding was developed with Avalon Healthcare to 
build a 90-bed addition to their existing building. In June 2010, 
Avalon celebrated the ground breaking of their new addition.
  In December, Avalon was contracted to oversee and manage Tuolumne 
General's Dietary Department. All Tuolumne General dietary staff was 
hired by Avalon, and the residents from the Long Term Care Unit were 
transferred upon completion of the addition at Avalon. With that, 
Tuolumne General Medical Facility closed its doors ending a 162-year 
history of providing excellent healthcare in Tuolumne County.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the contributions of Tuolumne 
General Hospital to the community of Tuolumne County.

                          ____________________