"Mr. Groundhog Day" appears once again at Westland House

In true Bill Murray style, the Oscar-nominated Hollywood star paid a visit to Westland House when he wasn't busy on the golf course during this year's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament.

Murray - famous for his roles in Groundhog Day, Caddyshack and, more recently, Lost in Translation - began visiting the Community Hospital facility after he forged a relationship with its namesake, Helen Westland. Murray comes back almost every year, spending time with patients and generally stirring up the staff. He never alerts the media, never lets anyone know when he's arriving, and makes sure everybody feels better before he leaves.

Go Red for Women

It's a myth that heart disease kills only men. In fact, heart disease is the number-one killer of men and women in the United States. In February, the American Heart Association launched "Go Red for Women," an educational campaign about the prevention of heart disease aimed at women. Community Hospital participated in that campaign this year by lighting its entry plaza red, joining other national landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Niagara Falls, and the Space Needle in Seattle in supporting the AHA mission.

U.S. surgeon general kicks off first annual Obesity Symposium

Skipping any of the pretense that might come with the titles, U.S. Surgeon General and Vice Admiral Richard Carmona spoke to a packed audience at Community Hospital's first annual Obesity Symposium, held at the Monterey Conference Center in January.

Carmona, who at one point was a high school dropout, used tales from his childhood - a time filled with poverty and struggle after his grandmother came to the United States from Puerto Rico - to illustrate the importance of culture when it comes to battling obesity.

"It's a time bomb," Carmona said of the health crisis.

Culture, Carmona believes, can change that. Culture can determine not only who people are, but also what they eat. Any prevention strategies, he said, will have to be researched and delivered in a culturally relevant way. Change will come, Carmona said, not from some top-down approach, but rather when community leaders take the messages into their individual and unique communities.

Community Hospital will sponsor its second annual Obesity Symposium in 2007.