Officials Break Ground on New Goleta Hospital
Campaign for Additional Community Donations
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 11 for the new Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital (GVCH). The event, put on by the Board of Trustees of the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation, provided an opportunity for officials to speak about the $103 million addition to the original hospital that is being mandated but not funded by the State of California. According to the state government, all hospitals in California “must be rebuilt or renovated to be able to withstand a major earthquake,” the deadline for which is 2013.
The proposed alterations include the replacement of all inpatient care facilities and private rooms as well as the addition of 12 emergency department treatment rooms, two surgical suites, a dedicated endoscopy suite, eight private intensive care units, and two hyperbaric oxygen chambers. The foundation is hoping to raise a total of $10 million in community donations to fund the new construction; $4 million has already been raised.
Speakers at the event included Jeffrey Bermant, Minister Teena Grant, Gretchen Milligan, Ron Werft, Diane Wisby, William Peeples, and Christopher Flynn. The groundbreaking ceremony, beginning with a prayer led by Teena Grant, consisted of the various hospital directors campaigning for contributions for the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital rebuilding, a project that the hospital staff, community leaders, and attendees were excited about.
As the symbolic shovels began to dig, the GVCH contingent celebrated the much-anticipated, state-mandate retrofitting that the president and CEO of Cottage Health System described as “not a burden, but as an opportunity.”
