It may have been 100 years since Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital
first opened its doors, but many people are already envisioning the
hospital’s next century.
It may have been 100 years since Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital first opened its doors, but many people are already envisioning the hospital’s next century.
With a changing and growing community, the hospital and the San Benito Health Care District have strived to meet the county’s changing needs.
Dr. Aslam Barra, an OB/GYN with the hospital district since 1985, described the relationship between the hospital and the community as “symbiotic.”
“The community is there to support the hospital, and the hospital is striving constantly to provide the services to the community and to be sensitive to the needs of the community,” Barra said.
With the passage of Measure L in May 2005, San Benito County voters made clear their support of the hospital. The bond measure, which passed with 77 percent of the vote, will provide $32 million for hospital updates over the next 20 years. The current hospital was built in 1962.
Closest on the horizon is a new emergency room.
Frankie Arballo, hospital public relations manager, said officials there are hoping the plans for the new E.R. would be approved by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in the next two months so that construction can begin at the end of January.
The new emergency room will be in the front of the hospital at the current site of the helicopter landing pad.
There is often overflow from the emergency room into the hall, said Barra. The larger space – the new E.R. will have 10 private rooms as well as several specialty rooms and beds – will allow hospital staff to accommodate more people.
“I think the hospital is poised to increase the services, increase the specialists that will be available so that as the population of San Benito County grows, so will the hospital,” Barra said.
The hospital also intends to build a new women’s center, although that is planned for further into the future, Arballo said.
Beth Ivey, board president of the San Benito Health Care District, said besides the new technologies and facilities at the hospital, it has also made efforts to improve patient satisfaction and make sure their needs are met.
“We’re doing a wonderful thing with changing the interior culture, which I think will help with patient satisfaction,” she said.
Barra said over the past 20 years, he had noticed an improvement in hospital services.
Barra said the quality of services is a testament to T.S. Hawkins, who created the hospital 100 years ago.
“Over the years, his vision and good intentions have borne fruit, and we are not only a good hospital, we’re a great hospital,” Barra said.
The hospital is one of the town’s largest employers, with 400 full-time employees in 2006. Being a “district hospital,” voters also control the major decisions of the health care district.
“It belongs, in a very real sense, to the community,” Ivey said. “And I hope they realize that really good care is going on.”
