Health & Fitness

In 1849, a steamship named after President James Monroe headed from St. Louis to Council Bluffs, Iowa. The passengers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Philadelphia. At St. Louis, they were joined with a group of California gold diggers from Jeffersonville, Indiana. But their trip was interrupted when cholera broke out on board. Local fourteen-year-old James McHenry discovered the steamship after it landed at Jefferson City and observed the dead and dying victims along the riverbank. Author Gary Elliott details the history of the outbreak in the city and its far-reaching effects.

In early 1952, eastern San Diego County's citizens voted overwhelmingly to establish the Grossmont Hospital District. Local civic leaders and physicians envisioned it as the vehicle for building a modern hospital to address the healthcare needs of their rapidly growing post-World War II communities. In August 1955, the district subsequently opened Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa. For the next sixty-five years, the institution grew to serve suburban and rural residents spread over the 750-square-mile district. In dealing with the daunting challenges of modern healthcare, the governing board entered a precedent-setting lease for hospital operations with San Diego-based nonprofit Sharp HealthCare in 1991. Historian James D. Newland has partnered with Grossmont Hospital and the Grossmont Healthcare District in chronicling the inspiring story of this iconic regional institution.