CMH - Giving

Audrey Woodburn Medical Education Fund

The late Audrey Woodburn was married to a doctor, and two of her four children are physicians; so her family knows she would be pleased that donations made in her name to Community Memorial Hospital are helping doctors continue their education in a constantly evolving medical world.

That’s the goal of the Audrey Woodburn Medical Education Fund, a part of the CMH Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation. The fund benefits all doctors on staff at CMH.

Audrey’s husband is surgeon James Woodburn. Two of their three sons, James Woodburn III, 47, who was CMH’s Chief of Staff last year, and Douglas Woodburn, 45, both followed in their father’s footsteps to become general surgeons at CMH.

Audrey Woodburn was 60 years old when she died suddenly of a heart attack in October 1992. She had been a Ventura resident for 20 years. When she died,
her friends and loved ones made donations to CMH, and a memorial fund with $19,000 was established in her name at that time.

In the years since, the Audrey Woodburn Medical Education Fund has grown with donations made directly to it plus the addition of 10 percent of the money collected each year from the Benefactors’ Ball, which this year will be held Oct. 18. Currently, the Audrey Woodburn Medical Education Fund has more than $29,000.

Audrey Woodburn worked for a time as a public school teacher and, according to her family, valued education highly. She encouraged all four of her children to pursue higher education and graduate from college.

If Audrey were alive today, “She’d be proud to know that on her behalf, Ventura is becoming a better place and the medical community is continuing to be top-notch,” said her daughter, Kimi.

Thanks to the Audrey Woodburn Fund, CMH doctors can apply for funding to attend medical conferences and seminars where they learn new skills and techniques in their fields of practice. The Woodburn family, which administers
the fund, recently helped a vascular surgeon attend a seminar, and last year paid for a urologist to learn the intricacies of laser surgery.

Contact Information

If you would like more information about becoming involved with the Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation or about gift opportunities and ways of giving, please call us at:

(805) 667-2881

or send your request to:

Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation
Community Memorial Hospital
147 North Brent Street
Ventura, CA 93003