City Wants Hospital to Consider Downtown Move

Tulare - City officials want Tulare District Hospital to seriously consider building a new campus in downtown Tulare near property earmarked for a new city library.

When Vice Mayor Phil Vandegrift raised the idea before a joint Planning Commission and Redevelopment Agency board meeting recently, several board members said they thought it was a good idea but probably financially unrealistic.

Voters overwhelmingly passed an $85 million bond in 2005 to expand and remodel the current hospital. Various sources have estimated the cost of a new hospital at between $250 million to $300 million.

But city leaders have said they don't want to start the conversation talking about money. The community should first ask itself where the best location would be, Mayor Craig Vejvoda and City Manager Darrel Pyle said.

Vejvoda suspects the answer would be downtown.

“If you're looking at really providing service to folks and at the same time seeing what else you could do—such as providing a positive economic impact to an area—that's where you would want to be,” Vejvoda said. Such a project, he maintained, has the potential for producing an “enormous win-win” for the community..

“What I seem to hear is: 'That sounds great, but we can't afford it,'” he said. “Let's turn that around and say, 'That sounds great. How can we afford it?'”

Pyle agreed.

“If money is the only issue, let's get smart people together and figure it out,” he said.

Proponents of the idea said the move to a new campus would benefit both the downtown—as Kaweah Delta District Hospital's location has benefited Visalia's downtownand the hospital district.

“Just as cities compete for industries, hospitals compete for patients and we want our team to win,” Pyle said.

Tulare District, located on the southwest corner of Cherry Street and Merritt Avenue, has little land upon which to expand. Parking is scarce at times and expected to become even more during construction of a new multi-story tower on the campus.

Building a new hospital downtown would be less disruptive, give the hospital a new state-of-the-art campus and negate the need to do state-required seismic retrofitting, Pyle said.

Vandegrift suggested the hospital might learn a lesson from the city.

“We remodeled the library until it's not functional anymore,” Vandegrift said.

If the hospital builds within the Downtown redevelopment project area, the Redevelopment Agency has tools that could assist with parking and other infrastructure needs, Pyle said.

During the March 14 redevelopment meeting, director Bob Nance reported the city manager had asked that the agency wait to find out what the hospital decides about building downtown before hiring a firm to do a parking study it had planned to do.

Denise Perry, Tulare District's interim chief executive officer, mentioned the downtown idea to her board on March 7 and members expressed a willingness to look at all options at a yet-to-be scheduled study session.

The board has not discussed the expansion or a proposed off-campus outpatient surgery center and medical office complex at a regular meeting since two new board members took office in early December.

The previous board was seriously exploring the possibility of forming a partnership with physicians and others to build a surgery center, medical offices, pharmacy, outpatient laboratory and other services in a complex that would be build on hospital property adjacent to Evolutions on East Prosperity Avenue.

Moving outpatient services off the campus would have many benefits, including giving the hospital more options on the main campus when it begins the expansion and remodel, hospital officials said.

But board President Dr. Parmod Kumar is opposed to the project and two new members, also doctors, raised questions about the idea during the November election.

Vandegrift and others have said if the hospital moved, it could leave its outpatient services on the existing campus and perhaps lease out other areas for long-term care or other medical purposes.

Board member Deanne Martin-Soares said she has doubts about putting the main campus downtown because of the cost, but said building an outpatient center there would make services more accessible to residents in west Tulare.

She said the idea of building a new hospital was discussed at one point, but the idea didn't go very far because of the costs.

But, again, that does not seem to deter city officials. Pyle was scheduled to talk with the hospital's bond oversight committee about the idea of a downtown hospital on March 19. The committee does not have the authority to change the direction the hospital is moving, but its reaction could give both city and hospital officials a feel for how receptive the community at large would be to the idea.

“I understand this is not an easy one,” Vandegrift said. “All I want to do is talk about it.”

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Beloved Tulare Physician to Leave

Tulare - Dr. Cyril Johnson is moving to a retirement community near Modesto this week, but the 94-year-old physician will always have a place here in the hearts of the many Tulare residents he served.

“He meant the world to all of us,” said Frances Martin, who first met Johnson in 1957 after she and her husband moved their family to Tulare. “We just felt so comfortable with him and he just always knew the answers. He was always so sympathetic and understanding. He never seemed like he was in a hurry.”

Martin and the many others who can't say enough about the compassionate care Johnson provided them before he retired in 1987 might be surprised to learn he didn't chose his career.

“My mother said, 'You are going to go to Stanford and you are going to be a doctor'… and she never brokered any questions,” Johnson said.

“I had a hell-of-a-fight to stay in medical school,” he said. “It was tough primarily, I think, because it was very dull.”

That was in the early years when all the books and lectures did little to spark his passion for medicine.

“Then they let me into the wards and clinics and I fell in love with people —sick people,” Johnson said.

Very sick people often show such goodness, “so you return it,” Johnson said. “It's just natural for us to want to help people who need help.”

The journey that brought Johnson to medical school and eventually to Tulare began with his birth on Nov.19, 1912, to George Breen Haines and Aileen Mary Parker Haines in Hong Kong, where his retired British Navy father and his British Eurasian mother had met.

His father died when he was 7 years old and his mother later married an American admiral, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, who adopted him and his younger sister, giving them his name.

From age 7 to 16, Johnson received his education in a British boarding school in Shanghai. When he finished his studies in 1928, he was board qualified to seek admission to universities in Hong Kong, Oxford and Cambridge but came instead to America, where his parents were living.

Since entry into a U.S. university required American History, he enrolled in high school and spent his in junior year in Annapolis, Md., and his senior year in Newport, R. I.

After graduation in 1930, he and his mother moved to California because his father had received orders to serve on the USS Arizona, which was based in Long Beach. He eventually enrolled in Stanford, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1934 and a medical degree in 1938.

His internship was at a hospital in San Bernardino County, where he met and began dating his future wife, Lucy Jane Weir. She was secretary to the hospital superintendent and the owner of a Dodge car with a rumple seat that ran out of gas when they later drove it to Las Vegas to marry.

“We pushed for one downhill and one uphill,” he laughed.

By the time they married, he and several Stanford colleagues had begun their residency program in Tulare at what was then Tulare County General Hospital, now the Hillman Health Center. After he finished the program, he began practicing medicine in Tulare and was working with Dr. Lew Watke when World War II began.

War Years

He tried to join with the Navy but was turned down because of his eyesight, so he went into the Army as a first lieutenant. He was assigned as a junior surgeon to the 59th Evacuation Field Hospital, which included mostly Stanford University and University of California medical school graduates including Drs. George Armanini and Ed Blaisdel who had both done their residencies at Tulare County General.

When his commanding officer was unable later to find a radiologist for the unit, he decided a general practitioner could do the job and chose Johnson for the task. He was later promoted to captain.

The field hospital unit earned five battle stars and a presidential merit unit citation as its doctors and nurses traveled with troops through Northern Africa, Sicily, Italy, southern France and Germany.

The battle on Anzio Beach was particularly harsh, Johnson said. “We really had a mess—about 8,000 casualties in about 30days.”

The field hospital was large, with 750 beds, and before the wounded were admitted they were stripped and sprayed for lice, he said. “After that they were no longer soldiers but people. You couldn't tell private or general or, most importantly, friend or foe.”

A Role Model

After the war, Johnson returned to Tulare with his wife and daughter, Georgianna Aileen “Bunny,” who had stayed in Carmel while he was gone.

He had a solo practice until he partnered with Dr. George Rider and later Dr. William Clinite. That partnership lasted many years until Clinite died and Rider left. He later brought Drs. Alex Coldwell and Thomas Evans into the practice.

When Tulare District Hospital opened in 1951, Johnson became its first chief of staff. He was later appointed and then elected to the hospital's board of directors.

Dr. Prem Kamboj, a pediatrician and recently-elected member of the Tulare Local HealthCare District board, said Johnson was his “role model” when he came to Tulare about 30 years ago.

“He really cared about his patients—that was his top priority,” he said.

He worked in Tulare for seven or eight months before Johnson would send him a patient, because he wanted to make sure the child would get good care, Kamboj said.

He recalls well the night he won Johnson's approval.

He was seeing a sick baby at 2 a.m. at the hospital when Drs. Johnson and Dave Billings, an obstetrician, asked him to accompany them to the X-ray department, Kamboj recalled.

“Tell me what's wrong with this baby?” Johnson asked the pediatrician.

When Kamboj finished giving his opinion, he said Johnson turned to Billings and said, “Dave, don't call me for any of my babies. Kam here—he'll take care of them.”

He admired Johnson not only for the way he cared for and protected his patients, but also for his wisdom, Kamboj said.

Before deciding to seek a hospital board seat, he said he sought Johnson's advice and blessing.

“What amazed me is … he still knew all the issues—some he knew better than I did,” Kamboj said.

Still Licensed

Johnson retired in 1987 but has kept his license current, even though it has meant attending conferences and tumor board meetings and taking continuing education classes. Two years ago, for example, he put in 105 hours of study so he could retain his “retired physician and surgeon” license status.

“I can practice medicine, providing I don't collect fees,” he said, explaining the license allows him to provide second opinions for former patients and others.

More than a few have sought his medical counsel during his retirement years and they say he never seems to mind.

“Oh, God no,” he said. “It's a compliment, you know.”

Johnson has enjoyed two long marriages. His wife Lucy died in 1975 and in 1976 he married Evelyn “Susie” Christine Schott, who now is receiving care in an assistant living community.

“I've been so blessed,” Johnson said, “Both of my wives were very beautiful in more ways than one.”

When he leaves Tulare, he will move into Samaritan Village, a retirement community in Hughson that is about 8 ½ miles from his daughter's home.

It is a big step for a man who has so endeared himself to the community.

“This place has been my life,” he said.

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TIP Needs Money; Plan for Future

Tulare - The downtown Tulare Improvement Program (TIP) ended the 2005-06 fiscal year with a $39,314 operating deficit and its board was expected to ask the City Council this week for $15,000 to help move it out of the red.

The Greater Tulare Foundation and the Tulare Local Development Company each have pledged $15,000 to help TIP, but only if the city will match their donations.

The organization, which is financially supported by business owners in the downtown improvement district who pay assessments and by the city, was formed 20 years ago to help recruit and retain businesses and encourage economic development in the 40-block area.

TIP has operated with a deficit for the past several years, but coordinator Jerry Magoon did not bring the matter to his board until February.

“Frankly, I was hoping our income levels would rise,” Magoon said. “I'm an optimist, always have been.”

TIP's 2005-06 deficit represented a gain of $7,504 from the prior fiscal year and was more than double the $15,583 that was logged in 2003-04, TIP's accountant David Eddy told the board of directors earlier this month.

“The revenue just hasn't increased and costs have gone up,” Eddy said. He reported that in the past the budget would go “a little bit in the red and then it would pop back into the black.”

Despite multi-year deficits, TIP had continued to operate by using money from its gift certificate program which, until recently, was co-mingled with operating revenues, Magoon said. The organization's balance sheet as of June 30 showed slightly more than $39,000 in liability related to certificates that have not yet been redeemed.

Mayor Craig Vejvoda, who serves on the TIP board, said he was “disappointed” Magoon decided only recently to tell the board about the deficit, but believes it makes “good economic sense” for the council to help the organization.

“I see the value of having a viable downtown,” Vejvoda said. “I think it's important to our community and I think TIP contributes to that.”

In addition to plugging the deficit, TIP and the city need to explore ways to assure the organization operates on firm economic grounds in the future, he said.

Vice Mayor Phil Vandegrift agreed the city needs to support TIP.

“If they need help, I think we have to look how we can help them,” Vandegrift said. “Jerry serves a good purpose downtown.”

Board Supports Magoon

Magoon's board members remain supportive of his leadership and understanding of his delay in reporting the deficit.

“Jerry is beating himself up about this,” Tony Taylor said. “Jerry always tries to get everything fixed without bringing it to everybody.”

Taylor called the $22,000-a- year that TIP pays Magoon “chicken feed” and said the organization will have to figure out how it is going to pay a full-time coordinator when he retires.

“We need TIP,” he said.

Board President Linda Nogues and member Don LeBaron agreed Magoon and his assistant Leslie Woudstra are doing a good job.

“It's amazing what this man does,” Nogues said. “I just think Jerry and Leslie have done an exceptional job.”

Like Taylor, LeBaron said the salaries paid are not enough.

“It's my contention that the budget we have now should all go to salaries,” LeBaron said. “What they do, they do well. This is a critical time for downtown and we need TIP now more than ever.”

Several board members said they thought it was time to ask the City Council to consider increasing the city's $12,500 annual allocation—an amount they said has remained unchanged within the past 15 years.

Councilman Richard Ortega said late last week he is not sure he could support such an idea.

“I'm just wondering what they have done on their own to increase their own fees,” Ortega said. “I want to talk. You want to help the downtown businesses, but they have to help themselves a little bit.”

Businesses owners in the downtown core pay an amount equal to 100 percent of their city business license to TIP, while those outside the core area pay 50 percent, Magoon said. He reported assessments are expected to total about $56,000 this fiscal year, which began July 1.

He has been reluctant to call for an assessment increase, he said. “It would be like taking a horse to water and making him drink.”

The assessment formula that TIP uses is a common one for downtown districts in California and as a downtown's revenues increase so do the fees because the cost of a business license is related to sales, City Manager Darryl Pyle said.

The city has been talking about making improvements downtown —including convincing Tulare District Hospital to build in the Pine Avenue are—that could stimulate growth and dramatically improve TIP's financial position, Pyle said.

Deficit Drop

TIP has reduced its deficit since July 1 by writing off $10,000 that represents the oldest unredeemed gift certificates.

“Some go back to the year 2000,” Magoon said.

Eddy said he expects the organization will write-off an additional $9,000 this fiscal year for the same reason, reducing the overall deficit to $20,000.

The grants from the Greater Tulare Foundation and the Tulare Local Development Company would fund the gift certificate program and a $15,000 contribution from the city would allow TIP to finish this year in the black and give it working capital to begin the 2007-08 fiscal year, Eddy said.

If TIP has to scale back its budget, Magoon said he would work part-time.

In his coordinator capacity, he tracks vacancies and potential vacancies, interviews and works with potential businesses and landlords, maintains a monthly property availability listing, acts as a downtown advocate at City Hall, works with individuals and groups to address graffiti, homelessness, code enforcement, parking and other problems.

He also organizes cooperative advertising and promotes special events such as Cinco de Mayo, Summer Sally, the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and other events and prepares a monthly newsletter that is distributed to 300 businesses in the TIP area.

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Shopping Center Primed for a Comeback

Tulare - The Monte Vista Shopping Center has taken some hard hits with the departure of Longs Drug Store, Oak Liquidators and now Tuceomas Federal Credit Union and the empty storefronts give the center a rather forsaken look.

But that is not the case, said Tony Namvar, representative for the Southern California owners of the shopping center.

“We're one signature away from Smart and Final coming in,” Namvar said. The Planning Commission approved plans earlier this year for the grocer/warehouse business to move into the spot that Longs vacated when it moved one block east into the new Lowe's center.

In addition, the holder of the lease for the former Oak Liquidators building is working to bring a 99-Cent Store to that space, Namvar said.

“We really were hoping to take over that lease [when Oak Liquidator's left],” Namvar said.

e reported In-Shape Health Club, TJ Maxx and Office Depot were all very interested in the site. The problem was the Albertsons Corporation—the original tenant who had retained the lease—had sold off some of its properties and the would-be new tenants and shopping center owners could not find out who the new lease holder was, Namvar said.

“Our hands were tied,” he said, adding telephone calls were not returned and it took more than six months to find out an Ohio-based entity was renewing the lease. “It took an attorney's letter.”

In the meantime, center tenants were upset and complaining the vacancies were hurting them and “people didn't believe anymore in the health of the center,” he said.

Monte Vista, which is on the southwest corner of East Prosperity Avenue and Hillman Street, is in an “awesome” location and will come back stronger with new tenants and a fresher appearance, Namvar said.

He wants Tulare residents to know the situation was “really out of our hands,” he said. “There is no shortage of tenants here, but it's like a chain reaction. We've had problems because we were dealing with big corporations who were not returning calls.

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Eshelman Recalls Adult Ed's Early Days

Tulare - David Eshelman, the first director of the Tulare Adult School, was invited to visit the school to tell the story of adult education in Tulare and he is probably glad he went.

Ascary Lemus, a student working on his high school diploma, listened intently as Eshelman described the challenges and 12-hour days involved in setting up an academic adult program.

“If you created all this, you're a great man,” Lemus told Eshelman, who described himself as “tired and burned out” when he retired in 1980. He said he is looking forward to his 88th birthday in June.

Eshelman's own experience growing up during the 1929 Great Depression underscores the importance of adult education.

“It was a hard time,” he told the students. “I dropped out of high school my senior year to help my family survive and help my dad with a very small trucking business.”

He later joined the military and, after his discharge, help a variety of jobs, including auto mechanic, radio station engineer and disc jockey.

“But I was not satisfied I would ever have a future in any of those jobs,” Eshelman said.

When the GI Bill made money available for veterans to return to school, he took advantage of that.

“I was able to get my high school diploma and baccalaureate degree in the same year,” he said, urging his audience to take advantage of every opportunity afforded them to get an education.

Eshelman's visit to the Adult School coincided with Adult Education Week.

Adult education is 151 years old but did not really start in Tulare until 1928, when the high school district began offering six to eight sessions a year featuring lecturers on tour, Eshelman said.

When he came to Tulare in 1952 as director of audio visual and multi-media education, the district offered only six or eight classes two nights a week, including typing, sewing, woodshop and Americanization classes, he said.

He was hired to teach one of the Americanization classes. “This is where my interest in adult education began,” he said.

One of his other duties was to develop project proposals for federal funds.

“I came to realize almost 50 percent of adults were functionally illiterate and lacked an eight-grade diploma,” he said.

When he became the adult education administrator in 1965 he had problems finding a building in which to hold adult academic classes, so they were held in churches until a business man constructed a building for the district, he said.

The program, which started with only six to 8 classes, grew to 25 within two or three years and continued to expand to more than 80 before he retired, he said.

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