french hospitalLast month, a pair was married at the hospital bedside of the groom’s mother in the Intensive Care Unit at French Hospital Medical Center. Les and Tamara were married by FHMC Chaplain and Manager of Spiritual Care Flora Washburn, surrounded by hospital nurses and caregivers.

The couple first met in Illinois while attending junior high. After graduating high school the pair went their separate ways. The two reunited thirty eight years later, and before long, they fell in love. While planning their dream destination wedding in Florida, Les’s mother Barbara, a San Luis Obispo County resident, fell ill. Concerned she would not be able to travel to the wedding in person, the couple decided to hold a ceremony at her hospital bedside in the ICU at FHMC.

“I’m so grateful for the kindness the nursing staff showed to us during this special moment with our family,” said Tamara.

The ceremony concluded with sparkling cider and wedding cake. “It isn’t often we have a wedding in the hospital,” says Flora Washburn, Manager of Spiritual Care. “It was inspiring to see the staff come together to make this beautiful moment a possibility for our patient and her family.”

French Hospital’s ICU was remodeled in 2015 as part of the “French – Well into the Future” modernization project. The ICU includes 11 intensive care beds, the Joan Gellert-Sargen Nurses Station, and the latest technology to care for critically-ill patients.


About French Hospital Medical Center

French Hospital Medical Center, located in San Luis Obispo, California, is rated among the top hospitals in the nation.  The Copeland, Forbes, and Rossi Cardiac Care Center provides the latest innovative cardiac and imaging technology, and is home to the Hearst Cancer Resource Center offering free education, resources and support to cancer patients and their families. French is a Dignity Health Central Coast hospital which also includes Arroyo Grande Community Hospital in Arroyo Grande, CA, Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, CA, St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, CA and St. John’s Pleasant Valley in Camarillo, CA. Dignity Health Central Coast is an integrated network of top quality hospitals, physicians from the most prestigious medical schools, and comprehensive outpatient services, including primary care offices, premier surgery centers, technologically-advanced laboratories, imaging centers and a full service home health agency; all recognized for quality, safety and service.  Learn more at www.frenchmedicalcenter.org.