Open Accessibility Menu
Hide

Kaweah Health's next town hall set for Wednesday, May 20, online

  • Category: News
  • Posted On:
  • Written By: Laura Florez-McCusker

VISALIA – As Kaweah Health continues its efforts to better engage with the community, it will hold its third of five town halls on Wednesday, May 20, in Visalia. The town halls are being hosted in the five zones that make up Kaweah Health; each is being hosted by the board member that represents the zone. This is the first in the series that will be hosted online due to COVID-19.

Members of the public are invited to join Gary Herbst, Kaweah Health's Chief Executive Officer during this town hall, which will take place from 6-7 p.m. online. To submit a question for the town hall or for information on how to join the webinar or call in, visit www.kaweahdelta.org/townhall. The town hall will be hosted by Herbert Hawkins, a member of Kaweah Health's Board of Directors, who represents zone I.

“The greatest lesson we learned from the 2016 defeat of Measure H was the importance of listening more carefully and more often to our community,” Herbst said. “We want to further involve the community to gather feedback, so that we can continually improve in our efforts to meet the healthcare needs of our region. Working with the community has been a phenomenal experience and as a result, we know that no matter the challenge, we will end up with a better solution.”

Measure H was the 2016 proposed general obligation bond that would have helped replace a sizeable number of hospital beds located in the older side of Kaweah Health Medical Center (what is called the “Mineral King Wing”), which does not meet state earthquake standards.

In 2017, Kaweah Health formed three Community Advisory Committees to gather feedback on three key issues: Community Relations, Healthcare for Today and Tomorrow, and the Hospital of the Future. Today, these committees and other ambassador groups are comprised of approximately 250 people, who meet monthly with Kaweah Health leaders to provide ideas and feedback regarding Kaweah Health services.