OXNARD : Milestone Marked at St. John’s Ceremony

St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard celebrated a construction milestone Monday with the blessing and placing of the last windows in the hospital’s new facility, which is scheduled to be completed next July.

“Today, as the last window is being set in place, we seal off our new St. John’s and set it apart as a sacred place, a holy place of hope and healing, of compassion and care,” said Christine Picchi, director of chaplain services.

About 150 guests trudged through dirt--and some mud puddles from the day’s sprinkling--at the construction site to view the ceremony.

The new hospital, located on 48 acres at the corner of Rose Avenue and Gonzales Road, will have 231 beds with a capability of expanding to 262 beds.

The short afternoon ceremony, which included the sprinkling of holy water on the windows, included a short speech by Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi, who said his tonsils had been removed at the original St. John’s hospital, built in 1912, and his five children were born at the present facility on Doris Avenue and F Street near the center of Oxnard. The present facility, which has 269 beds, will be closed next year, hospital spokeswoman Rita Schumacher said.