Yes, these are — indeed — different times.
You may have heard that Monterey County is working to become the healthiest county in California.
Big state? To be sure. Radical idea? We think not.
We started in a former clinic in Carmel more than 80 years ago. Then a hospital in the Del Monte Forest. Private rooms before there were private rooms. Natural setting before feng shui was a thing.
Four stories tall — and no taller — before intimate environments became the latest craze.
Why? Better healing and staying healthier, of course.
Now? Fast forward 80 years and we are Montage Health — a collection of entities,
all started here in Monterey County. Locals helping locals with one of the things that matters most to everyone: health. But we aren’t much for the typical go-see-the-doctor-when-you’re-sick sort of thing. Our goal is to make everyone feel as good as they can.
Our greatest dream? To keep you out of the hospital.
Well, we know you have to move to stay healthy. So, we built
Montage Wellness Center, with locations in Marina and Salinas.
To reduce insurance costs, we created our own health plan —
Aspire Health Plan — so you get personalized care and the healthcare dollars stay right here in Monterey County.
Finding a primary care doctor or a specialist can be challenging,
so we formed Montage Medical Group. With seven local offices,
we have already added more than 40 (yes, 40!) new doctors
to the area.
And for those with healthcare conditions that require the most care, the most individual attention, we created a program with people who reach out directly to help them enter and navigate the healthcare system. Community Health Innovations — fondly known as CHI — is about ensuring the best health for everyone, regardless of where they begin on the path.
MHF gratefully accepted a remarkable gift of $105.8 million from longtime Community Hospital and Montage Health supporter Bertie Bialek Elliott, to be used exclusively for child and adolescent behavioral health. Our comprehensive program will be called Ohana, Hawaiian for family — in the broadest sense.
That is just the latest (and, to be sure, the largest,) example of people stepping up to give us the tools we need to make our community the healthiest it can be.
Our goal, you see, is to provide a different model for health, for life. The kind of life we all want.
But being who we are, even that made us curious. How are we doing with health? With life?
In a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation measuring a broad array of community health indicators, Monterey County was the 22nd healthiest county in California. Out of 58. Hmmm. Middle of the pack. Not a place we ever like to be.
You do your part.
We will promise to continue to do ours.
If we’re working with the number 22 as a starting point — as in 22nd healthiest county in the state — game on...
Montage Medical Group has more than 40 primary care doctors and specialists providing care at offices in Monterey, Carmel, and Marina. Physician recruitment continues to ensure healthcare access for the community. To help in those recruitment efforts, Montage Health purchased an apartment complex in Monterey to provide transitional housing.
photo: Dr. Steven Goldberg
Montage Medical Group now has primary care offices in Monterey, Carmel, and Marina. The newest and largest building — at Ryan Ranch in Monterey — opened in spring 2018.
The clinic provides free, basic healthcare services to Monterey County’s homeless and others who have limited access to care.
Montage Wellness Center has locations in Marina and Salinas. Both centers feature lap pools, cardio and weight machines, classes, and personal training.
Before surgery, a clinician goes through the patient’s health history in detail to ensure they are as prepared as possible and can have the best results.
Community Health Innovations (CHI) provides tools, knowledge, and coordinated support for our patients with chronic diseases. CHI is dedicated to helping create a vibrant, engaged, and healthy population.
Montage Health offers courses on everything from nutrition to childbirth to exercise to disease management.
Thanks to a $105.8-million gift from Carmel’s Bertie Bialek Elliott at the end of 2017, Montage Health is building an innovative, transformational mental health program for children and adolescents.
Montage Health has partnered with Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System to increase awareness and identification of pre-diabetes and diabetes throughout Monterey County, and to provide education and prevention services.
Our coach provides bilingual programs — English and Spanish — for children in the community to help them create healthy, lifelong habits.
photo: Taylor Gann
To ensure our staff is credentialed, licensed, and current — and providing the highest-quality care to our patients — we support continuing education.
Montage Health is implementing an electronic health record that will enable patients to have more seamless care and coordinated care, with much of their health information available in one secure place.
These three critical programs offer the highest-quality care.
photo: Aaron Groff
Planning for and talking about what we want when it comes to serious illness and end-of-life care is difficult, but vastly important. We offer free workshops and guidance on how to navigate these challenging times early.
Staff convenes every morning to discuss the previous day’s events, upcoming considerations, and to develop a Safety Tip of the Day.
Aspire Health Plan offers three different Medicare Advantage plans, featuring cost savings for every budget, a large local provider network, and urgent and emergent care outside Monterey County.
photo: Adrienne Shimoda, Aspire Health Plan member
Many of our patients at Community Hospital are 65 years of age or older. Nurses Improving Care for Healthcare System Elders (NICHE) ensures our staff is knowledgeable about geriatric concerns, enabling us to provide evidence-based care for common conditions in this population.
Through our Community Benefit program, we collaborate with numerous community partners including the Big Sur International Marathon, Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County, Community Partnership for Youth, area schools, etc.
Community Hospital’s Auxiliary awards scholarships annually. Many of the student recipients volunteer at the hospital while attending Monterey Peninsula College’s Maurine Church Coburn School of Nursing, California State University Monterey Bay, and other institutions.
photo: Kristi Marotta
At Community Hospital, 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. This program is designed for those who can’t pay their hospital bill and who meet qualifying guidelines.
This program continues to expand and make significant progress in the fight against opioid abuse and misuse in Monterey County.
Community Hospital’s Tyler Heart Institute, in collaboration with the American Heart Association, offers a Monterey County-wide defibrillator program and CPR education. Nonprofit organizations and schools can apply for partial or complete grants.
There are plenty of ways to join the cause. Simple things. Big results. Imagine if we make it to the
top together. View some ideas to help you get started…
Make a Pledge
Sign-up to have Montage Health updates delivered to your inbox.