Morongo Basin Healthcare District recently honored two retiring, long-term board members for their years of service and records of accomplishments. Reporter Mike Lipsitz has the who and the why…
Earlier this month the Morongo Basin Healthcare District Board of Directors recognized past board members Martie Avels and Pat Cooper for their years of service to the District. Avels joined the board in 2012; but was first associated with the district as an emergency room nurse when the hospital first opened. Avels was instrumental in remodeling the emergency room, opening the Special Additions Family Birthing Center, and served as interim CEO before retiring. Pat Cooper was elected to the board in 2008. During her tenure, the District purchased a new CT scanner and digital mammography equipment, instituted a smoke-free campus, built the medical center’s waste-water treatment facility, and the lease of the medical center to Tenet Healthcare was enacted. Both Avels and Cooper played a significant role in defining the new direction and identity of the healthcare district after leasing the medical center properties to Tenet in 2015. Avels and Cooper completed their elected terms in December.
Board members shown from left are Joe Sullivan, Martie Avels, Marge Doyle, Pat Cooper, Bob Armstrong, Dianne Markle-Greenhouse and Paul Hoffman.
