A New Level of Care
At Community Memorial Hospital
With the opening of the new Ocean Tower at Community Memorial Hospital, Ventura has enhanced is cardiac, neo-natal, emergency, and surgical care for patients. Megan O'Neill, Business Development Manager with Community Memorial Health System, spoke to members and guests of Ventura Rotary South on Monday, July 22, and provided a brief history of CMH and details on its newly expanded profile.
Megan noted that CMH is a leader in health care in Ventura County with more than 450,000 patient visits annually. It has the busiest surgical, heart/vascular, and birthing centers in the County. The new Ocean Tower was built in response to a California seismic mandate. It features 250 private rooms, a larger emergency room with state-of-the-art technology, and a dedicated maternal health floor.
Megan also explained some of the "softer" features of the new facility, including a healing garden, sleeper sofas in patient rooms so family members can stay with their loved ones, and more than 600 pieces of local artwork that were donated to the hospital (including art by children for the pediatric unit).
The older facility (designated the Mountain Tower) is still an integral part of the Community Memorial Health System, housing administrative offices, the graduate medical education/residency program, and the outpatient program.
With the expanded facility comes a greater need for volunteers to assist with everything from patient care to staffing the gift shop to providing general information to visitors at the main entrance. Applications for volunteer work can be obtained in the lobby of the new Ocean Tower.