Our Mission
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula is dedicated to identifying and
meeting the changing healthcare needs of the people of the Monterey Peninsula
and surrounding communities.
We are committed to providing high-quality services at a competitive cost and
within a safe environment. We provide educational and public service programs to
enhance the health of our community and the competence of those who provide the
service.
We are committed to caring for all who come through our doors, regardless of
ability to pay, to the fullest extent allowed by law and available
resources.
Our Vision
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula will be the healthcare
organization in our region most concerned for those we serve, most chosen for
the quality and value of our service, and most respected for the integrity,
competency, and commitment of our employees, medical staff, and volunteers.
Our History
This is a tale of tractors, trees, two brothers, and a man named Tom Tonkin.
An epic filled with generosity and vision, and an unparalleled sense of
community …
1929 — Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula gets its
unofficial start when a woman named Grace Deere Velie Harris — one of four heirs
to the Deere tractor fortune — gives an endowment to create a Carmel clinic
specializing in metabolic disorders.
1934 — On October 19, Grace Deere Velie Harris’ Carmel
clinic is converted into a 30-bed general community hospital named Peninsula
Community Hospital.
1950s — The paths of Samuel F.B. Morse and Tom Tonkin cross
in most fortuitous fashion. In 1955, Peninsula Community Hospital hires Tonkin
as the administrator. In 1919, Morse had created Del Monte Properties Company.
Perhaps it was inevitable that Morse now decides to donate 22 prime,
pine-tree-filled acres in the Del Monte forest as a hospital building site.
1961 — On March 29, “Community Hospital of the Monterey
Peninsula” is officially adopted as the name of the hospital.
1962 — On June 28, Community Hospital of the Monterey
Peninsula opens on Holman Highway. The 100-bed, 210,000-square-foot facility —
the first community hospital in the country to offer all private rooms — costs
$3.5 million. Two-thirds of those funds come from community donations. The
hospital, designed by world-renowned architect Edward Durell Stone, is honored
with state and national awards for excellence in architecture.
1971 — The distinctive dome over the Fountain Court is
added, as are 72 additional rooms, including a mental health center. Half of the
$4 million project is funded by community contributions.
1981 — On December 29, Community Hospital Foundation is
created as the parent/holding company for the hospital and related
subsidiaries.
1982 — The former Eskaton Monterey Hospital — opened in 1930
by brothers Hugh and Horace Dormody in downtown Monterey — becomes part of
Community Hospital. Later, it is converted into a chemical dependency treatment
center.
1983 — A 42,000-square-foot addition to Community Hospital’s
main building opens. The new space houses outpatient, educational, and business
office functions.
1988 — The Outpatient Surgery Center opens. It now handles
more than half of all surgeries at Community Hospital.
1991 — The Rehabilitation Services department at Community
Hospital is expanded.
1996 — The Family Birth Center opens at Community Hospital,
bringing single-room maternity care to local families.
Community Hospital acquires a local home health agency.
1997 — The remodeled downtown Monterey facility (formerly
Eskaton Monterey Hospital) reopens as the Hartnell Professional Center, housing
outpatient mental health services, the Recovery Center and its Clint Eastwood
Youth Program, the Cardiopulmonary Wellness Program and diagnostics, the Blood
Center, a satellite laboratory, and X-ray facility.
In November, ground is broken for Community Hospital’s new Comprehensive
Cancer Center.
Community Hospital acquires a second local home health agency, a skilled
nursing facility at Hospice House in Monterey, and Hospice of the Central
Coast.
1999 — The Comprehensive Cancer Center opens at Community
Hospital, providing state-of-the-art diagnosis, treatment, and support for
cancer patients and their families.
2002 — On March 4, Community Hospital’s new Breast Care
Center begins operating on Cass Street in Monterey. The center offers
comprehensive breast care services — everything from mammograms to biopsies — as
well as screenings for osteoporosis.
2003 — Completed in June, a three-story underground parking
garage, with 316 parking spaces, is built under the hospital’s main entrance,
improving parking for patients and visitors.
2004 — Site preparation begins for the Forest Pavilion,
which will add 120 new patient rooms, and the South Pavilion, which will add
135,000 square feet and centralize critical-care departments and related
services.
The Ryan Ranch Outpatient Campus opened in July. This expansive, centrally
located facility houses expanded Sleep Disorders Center and Diabetes &
Nutrition Therapy programs, doctor's offices, and administrative offices for the
hospital’s hospice programs. A new imaging center, an additional satellite lab,
and a health resource library are scheduled to open later in the year.
