Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital is one of many institutions in
San Benito County that strives to make the community a better
place.
Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital is one of many institutions in San Benito County that strives to make the community a better place.
The hospital was founded in 1907 by Thomas Hawkins, who was so distraught by the death of his 9-year-old granddaughter, Hazel, that he dedicated his life to building a hospital so no one else would die from a lack of medical care in San Benito County.
“We are really lucky that out of a tragic illness for Mr. Hawkins’ granddaughter, he gave the money back to the community in the form of a hospital,” said Dr. Aslam Barra, chief of staff at Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
The hospital became intrinsically linked to the community, and nearly a century later it still remains an important part of San Benito County.
“It’s terribly important to the community, since we’re the only hospital in the county, that we remain strong,” said Beth Ivey, president of the San Benito Health Care District. The San Benito Health Care District oversees Hazel Hawkins Hospital and several other medical centers in San Benito County.
The hospital has come very far from its first location at 910 Monterey Street in Hollister and continues to move forward into its next century. With the new Measure L funds, the hospital will soon be updating its facilities, most notably with a new emergency room.
“The community has been very supportive of the hospital,” Barra said. “When they asked for the passage of Measure L it was overwhelmingly passed. So that means the community wants to see the hospital continue to prosper.”
In May 2005, 77 percent of San Benito County residents voted in favor of the property bond Measure L, which allowed Hazel Hawkins toimplement a $31.5 million expansion over the next 30 years.
Measure L is costing homeowners around $25 annually per $100,000 of assessed property value.
Through Measure L, the hospital will be putting in a new emergency center. The plans for the emergency room are currently being approved by the Office of Statewide Planning and Development, but they are hoping to start construction soon. In addition, the hospital is building a new women’s center.
Despite its growth and development, the hospital has not always been as prosperous as it is today. Aurelia Bozzo, 92, worked as a registered nurse at the hospital over several decades, both in the 1940s when it was located on Monterey Street and in the 1970s, after it had moved to Sunset Drive.
“The old Hazel Hawkins was so much smaller,” Bozzo said. “If we were overcrowded, the patients would be put in the hallway. It was a great little hospital.”
Bozzo explained that when she worked the night shift, she would often be the only nurse on duty with 20 beds to attend to. “I tell you, I did a heck of a lot of praying at that time,” she said.
In 1957, Hollister residents voted in favor of forming a hospital district, and the new Hazel Hawkins “district hospital” was opened on Sunset Drive in 1962.
When Bozzo worked at the old hospital, she said, most of her patients were her friends or people she knew. Despite the move to the larger location and the growth in the county, hospital staff still maintain that it feels very much like a community hospital.
“The hospital is an important part of the community. We see it professionally and personally. You meet a lot of people who were born here in this hospital and so their life started here,” Barra said.
Barra said the other day he was at Starbucks, and the customer in front of him purchased his coffee for him before he could pay. The man explained to Barra that he had delivered his baby at the hospital.
Each year, around 100,000 people are treated at Hazel Hawkins Hospital. Almost all long-term residents of San Benito County has been to the hospital for some occasion during their time living here. The hospital has become a cornerstone of the town.
“Local hospitals and colleges or schools are the basic blocks of any community,” Barra said. “The hospital is a good citizen in the sense that it provides not only health care for the community, but it employs a lot of the community.”
With more than 500 employees, the San Benito Health Care District is the third largest employer in San Benito County. The staff at Hazel Hawkins Hospital are hoping they can continue to attract physicians, nurses and other staff to the area.
Ken Underwood, CEO of Hazel Hawkins, said there are plans to double the size of the hosptial in the next two years.
“We will add additional services to meet the future needs of the community,” Underwood said. “That’s the basic mission and vision: We’re committed to meeting the health care needs of the community.”
Ivey said that along with increasing the facilities and technology of the hospital, it is always a goal of the hospital to hire and maintain a strong staff. She said it’s important that they not only focus on having the most talented staff – they are working to attract various specialists – but also a caring staff.
“Good care happens here. We’re committed to that,” Ivey said.
She said the hospital has a two-pronged goal of focusing on patient safety and quality care, while simultaneously committing to strong customer service.
“We’re committed to giving the kind of care that we would expect if we were the patient. To have not only quality care, but caring care,” Ivey said. “Our goal is to have every member of this hospital staff to think, this is my grandfather, this is my mother, this is my sister.”
