The team at Community Regional Medical Center's wound center watch a Zoom presentation by John Harris, who made a $1 million donation Thursday. Photos via CRMC

Clovis Community Medical Center’s Wound Care Center received a surprise donation of $1 million from John Harris, owner of Coalinga-based Harris Farms.

The announcement, made on Thursday just before noon, came as a surprise to the CCMC team, which received the donation in thanks for care provided to Harris at the center.

The wound center, which is visited by more than 7,000 patients annually, sees thousands more patients during their hospitalizations, and helps patients with treatment of chronic, hard-to-heal wounds, including many long-term injuries that can take months or years to recover from.

“I’m extremely grateful for the excellent care I received from the Wound Center for my recent visits,” said Harris via a Zoom meeting on Thursday.

The donation will support expansion of the Wound Center at CCMC.

“That is absolutely remarkable because it really is about gratitude,” said Katie Zenovich, Senior Vice President of Development and External Affairs and Chief Fund Development Officer. “He’s grateful for the care that he got here, and turned around and said, ‘I want to give back to those who gave me the care that I got.’”

CCMC nurse Laryssa Day hopes that Harris’ donation will help go to serving future patients at the Wound Center.

“Honestly, I cried at first because it’s really overwhelming,” Day continued, adding that the Wound Center serves a large part of the community, not just in Fresno, but throughout the Valley. “To receive a donation of this size means so much to us because the growth that we’ve been trying to achieve together…sounds like it might actually be possible now, and that’s just incredible to hear.”

This donation will help give the center an opportunity to expand to serve more patients in the Valley.

“When John made this gift, he was thrilled to do it and he wants the care team to have what they need in order to provide top care to everyone in this Valley,” said Zenovich. “What he [Harris] said is, ‘Time will heal all wounds, but the wound team is better.’