Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District Board of Directors special meeting

CEO of Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District (TVHD), Peggy Mendiburu, announced two upcoming district events at a special board of directors meeting on June 27.

On Aug. 1 at Philip Marx Central Park on East E Street in Tehachapi, the TVHD will be co-sponsoring National Night Out with the Tehachapi Police Foundation. National Night Out is an annual event promoting healthy police-community relations that seeks to build strong relationships within neighborhoods and raise general awareness on crime and drugs, making our communities safer from the inside out. Past Night Outs have run from 5 to 8 p.m. Mendiburu also noted the upcoming Tehachapi Blood Drive on July 26 at the Tehachapi Vineyard Church located on East Pinon Street. Appointments can be made at http://www.hcbb.com/schedule/.

In addition to sponsoring events, Mendiburu announced TVHD will attempt to match all donations raised through the Stars and Stripes Campaign for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You can support the campaign by buying paper stars at several local businesses, including P-dubs, SpaceFlow Yoga and Tehachapi Wine & Cattle Company, for $1-$5 per star. The fundraiser is a joint effort of TVHD’s Community Outreach Committee, the Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The newly opened Little Library is in great need of children’s books donations. It stands outside the TVHD offices at 116 W. E St., and offers free books for both children and adults through a reconstructed doll house. Books can be dropped off and picked up freely. Unfortunately, to date the district has not received many children’s books. You can drop off any book donations at their E Street offices.

Also attending the meeting was Administrative Director of Operations at Adventist Health, Edward Martin. Martin spoke to the board about hospital plans to improve healthcare quality and access for the community of Tehachapi in upcoming months. With a focus on expanding the range of services available, Adventist continues to plan the construction of an outpatient pavilion in Tehachapi to the great benefit of local residents. Once planned and approved, the project is predicted to be a 2-year build out. Adventist will also be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony in mid-August to celebrate the opening of a new PT Solutions physical therapy site on Green Street.

Adventist plans to expand services beyond the Greater Tehachapi area. Martin shared that Adventist has rented space in the Rosamond area, hinting that exciting plans were in motion to make healthcare more accessible for East Kern County residents. This was Adventist’s first public announcement of the project.

Martin announced the ongoing assemblage of a nine-member council to hold regular public meetings for the Tehachapi community where their needs, wants and concerns will be heard by Adventist. The hospital desires to expand community outreach meetings to the entirety of Kern County in the future. Be sure to keep an eye out in the coming months for the announcement of the first meeting.

“We are approaching another season of opportunities to do more for the community,” said Board Chairperson Mike Nixon of the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District.