Tulare Regional Medical Center Cottage Deconstruction:

Clearing out the old to make ready for the new

On July 9^th, Tulare Regional Medical Center removed seventy-five years worth of history to prepare for new history to be made. The cottages that were seventy-five years old had been a part of the hospital campus for the past sixty-one years and served many functions for the hospital in that time. From nurse housing to offices, those walls held a lot of history. And their deconstruction ushers in an exciting new era of health care provided by TRMC. The Medical Tower, which will stand in the cottages’ place, will provide a 400% increase for the Emergency Room, second floor surgical suites, a birthing center on the third floor, and twenty-seven private rooms on the fourth floor. In total it will be 115,000 square feet, five stories with a Helipad on top of it. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2012.

Heroes Breakfast at Quail Park

Quail Park, an independent and assisted living retirement community in Visalia, hosted a breakfast for local police, fire, sheriff, highway patrol, and ambulance personnel on May 28^th. The event is held annually to thank all of the heroes for all that they do for our community on a daily basis. Many go above and beyond what they are required to, and for that, they deserve thanks. The guests were honored with a buffet breakfast and door prizes, as well as a heroes pen—a thank you for attending. The business’ that donated to the prizes were: GOLIFE Healthcare, Salser & Dillard Funeral Chapel, Holiday Inn, Visalia Marriott, Visalia Nursing & Rehab, the Meadows, Town Meadows, Oak Meadows, Amdul In-Home Care, Soutas & Associates, Prestige Assisted Living, Evergreen Assisted Living, Walnut Park, Debbie Ramos, Kaweah Marina, Visalia Medical Clinic, the Lifestyle Center, Table Mountain Casino, Avi Resort & Casino, Cypress Chevron & Car Wash, Pizza Hut, Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad, and of course Quail Park itself. The prizes were all wonderful gifts and the heroes definitely enjoyed winning them.

Battle of the Badges: A Battle to Save Lives

Members of local law enforcement picked up the bat, glove, and softball for the 2^nd Annual Battle of the Badges Softball Tournament on the weekend of May 30^th-31^st. The tournament started as a way to get law enforcement together to have fun and raise money for a good cause. This year’s recipients are a local family going through tough times. At age 10 the family’s daughter, Sarah Wright, had to travel to San Francisco many times with a life threatening medical condition. Finally diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, young Sarah is doing much better now, but she will always live with her condition. After spurring blood drives, the Battle of the Badge is now raising money to help offset the family’s medical bills and loss of income. All together $5,500 has been raised for the Wright family.

Frank Freeman of the Visalia’s CHP started the Battle of the Badges, and this year is the first year there was a public co-ed tournament due to intense interest last year. The first day of the competition was the Law Enforcement only tournament, and the second day saw the play-offs as well as the public co-ed tournament. The Law Enforcement winners were CHP’s Deuces Wild. And Sunday’s winners were the Top Dawgs. The winners of the Law Enforcement Tournament went on to play against City Fire on July 31^st in a charity game at the Rawhide Stadium. The proceeds benefited TC Boys & Girls Club. Overall, this was a fun event to help a wonderful family in need.