[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 133 (Friday, October 5, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF MEE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 5, 2012

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the 
Fiftieth anniversary of Mee Memorial Hospital in King City, California. 
Founded in 1962 to replace an outmoded and inadequate facility, Mee 
Memorial has served its small town home and over 5,000 square miles of 
surrounding rural farms, ranches, and scattered residences with the 
highest quality medical care for the last half century. In that time it 
has grown into modern facility with a network of clinics serving the 
whole cross section of the local community, from farmworkes and local 
retirees to visiting U.S. Army Reserve soldiers training at nearby Fort 
Hunter Liggett.
  In the late 1950s, South Monterey County leaders recognized the need 
to upgrade their community's medical care. Dr. L.M. Andrus and his son, 
Dr. L.H. Andrus, donated land for a new hospital. Local leaders secured 
part of the construction funding through the federal Hill-Burton Act. A 
community campaign raised the balance needed, with local ranchers 
Myrtle Mee and her son Tom Mee donating the final $150,000. They sold a 
valuable herd of cattle to complete the campaign. The campaign 
leadership named the hospital in memory of Myrtle's husband, George L. 
Mee, in recognition of this final critical effort.
  Mee Memorial has kept up with the changing needs of the community and 
in 2001 built its present 199 bed facility adjacent to the original 
1962 facility. This modern hospital is the core of the Mee Memorial 
Medical System in Southern Monterey County which also includes four 
outpatient health clinics in King City and one in the neighboring City 
of Greenfield.
  In 1962, only 10,000 people called Southern Monterey County home. 
Today the population has grown to nearly 50,000, and Mee is still the 
only hospital within fifty miles. The hospital's on-site heliport, a 
project supported by the King City Lion's Club, transports critical 
patients to other facilities as needed. Today Mee Memorial employs more 
than 500 people. Over seventy-five volunteers are active in the Service 
League and Foundation, which sponsor many events and fund-raisers to 
provide valuable services and equipment to meet the needs of the 
patients. It is these people, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and 
the deep bench of community support, that make Mee such a vital part of 
Southern Monterey County's quality of life. Mee Memorial has seen some 
challenging times in recent years, but the skill, dedication, passion, 
and professionalism of these people ensure that Mee Memorial's future 
is a bright one.
  Mr. Speaker, I know the whole House joins me in congratulating Mee 
Memorial Hospital on its anniversary, and wish them many more years of 
quality service to the public.

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