A free reception for Dr. William Hart, author of a recently published history of Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, at the Museum of Ventura County’s event pavilion. Signed copies of “The Hospital of Choice: Community Memorial Hospital: A History,” will be available in the museum bookstore, in both hard and soft cover. Hart will donate all proceeds from sales of the book to the museum.

Hart was the first Board Certified cardiologist in Ventura County, the first procedural cardiologist in the Tri-Counties, and he founded the first Coronary Care Unit/Intensive Care Unit in Ventura County. His book chronicles Community Memorial Hospital’s 109 years of growth since opening in 1902 as the Elizabeth Bard Memorial Hospital, founded by brothers Cephas and Thomas Bard.

The present Museum of Ventura County shares some founding history with the hospital. Dr. Cephas Bard’s collection of artifacts, often given him in lieu of payment for medical services, formed the original exhibition with which the museum began in 1913.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, members and children under 6 are free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.