Foundation Update - June 2010

A Message from Cherlyn Spencer

Executive Director, Alameda County Health Care Foundation

Dear Friends,

It’s hard to believe that summer is here. We’ve been very busy the past few months and have much news to share with you—both about our recent 20th Anniversary Gala Benefit and about our angiography suite campaign, which continues to be the primary focus of our current fundraising efforts. Rather than issue two separate newsletters this month to update you on our activities, we decided to combine the topics of Foundation Update and Angio News into this June issue of Foundation Update.

When I last wrote to you, we were preparing for the Gala Benefit, which took place on Saturday June 5. It was truly a wonderful event—one that we will remember fondly for years to come. For those who weren’t able to attend, we’ve posted the Program on our website. It includes a summary of the Alameda County Health Care Foundation’s (ACHCF’s) history and accomplishments, as well as more information on our award winners.

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And the Award Winners Are...

Each year at ACHCF’s Gala, OakCare Medical Group presents an award for Outstanding Physician and one for Outstanding Caregiver. And, every year the award presentation and acceptance speeches remind us of how fortunate we are to have such amazing providers serving our patients. This year was no different.

Judith Wofsy, MD, who won the Outstanding Physician award, has been with ACMC for more than three decades. “Outstanding” is an apt description of Dr. Wofsy’s contributions to our patients and our community, and the medical profession as a whole. In accepting her award, Dr. Wofsy humbly stated: "I am very grateful for my many years at Highland, working with so many people who have devoted their professional lives to the care of our patients. And I am even more grateful to my patients who have taught me so much about dignity, resilience and having a generous heart."

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And the Raffle Winners Are...

At this year’s Gala we substituted our traditional silent auction with a raffle. Elaine Bauer, wife of ACHCF’s Board Chair, Bruce Bauer, led the charge in securing a wealth of gift certificates, gifts and other goodies that were grouped by theme and packaged into four amazing baskets—each worth more than $3,000. ACHCF and ACMC staff, as well as ACMC’s Auxiliary volunteers sold tickets on site at Highland and Fairmont throughout May. ACHCF’s board members tapped their networks, selling countless tickets to their friends and family. And, on the night of the Gala, our volunteers sold hundreds more tickets to our guests. We owe much thanks to Elaine and all our wonderful volunteers. As a result of their efforts, we raised $16,000 from the raffle, more than we have netted in previous years’ silent auctions.

The winners were drawn the night of the Gala, but did not need to be present to win. As it turned out, ACMC employees won all four baskets. The lucky winners and their bountiful gift baskets are shown by clicking on the links below:  

Basket #1 - Food & Wine (Franklin Leung)

Basket #2 - Spa & Fitness (Cindy Harless)

Basket #3 - Travel & Entertainment (Isabel Alejandra & Tomas Ortiz)

Basket #4 - Sports & Games (Barbara Mitchell)

Heart-to-Heart Campaign Update

We Are In The Home Stretch! 

In her June 9 letter to Heart-to-Heart Campaign chairs and leadership, ACHCF’s Executive Director, Cherlyn Spencer, reported that on the campaign’s status as we enter the final month of our two-year-long campaign to raise $2.67 million for the combined cardiac catheterization laboratory and angiography suite. The good news is that we have just $100,000 left to raise. The challenging news is that our deadline is June 30.

Kicking off the “Fund-a-Need” request at the Gala, Dr. Sara Khademi, Interim Chair of ACMC’s Department of Radiology, spoke eloquently and passionately about how essential this equipment is for our patients: “The construction of the angiography suite would be a monumental step forward for the state of healthcare in Alameda County. Not only would it provide life saving interventions for our thousands of trauma patients, but it would allow for proper treatment of our even larger population of medical patients who suffer from diabetes, heart disease, renal disease and a multitude of other ailments. Let us join as a community to make the success of the angiography suite campaign our top priority.”

We encourage everyone to heed Dr. Khademi’s words and consider a gift of any amount to the campaign. 
 

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Acknowledging Medical Staff Members for Increased Donations

Dr. Barry Simon, Chief of the Emergency Department and Chair of the Foundation’s Medical Staff Campaign, recently announced that four colleagues had increased their donations to the Angiography Suite Campaign (“Heart-to-Heart Campaign”) and are now at new levels of the Physician Council Honor Society.

These physicians and their new levels are:

Gold Heart Society ($5,000-9,999):

• Thomas Frohlich, MD

• Valerie Ng, MD

• Barry Simon, MD

• Peter Slabaugh, MD

Dr. Patrick Connell Society ($2,500-4,999)

• Ted Rose, MD

• Charlotte Wills, MD

In additions, the following physicians have now become eligible for the Pacesetters Society:

• Sang-ick Chang, MD

• Johara Chapman, MD

• Jay K. Harness, MD

Dr. Simon encourages physicians who may not have already made a gift or those who may be able to increase their gift to the Heart-to-Heart Campaign to do so by contacting him or visiting ACHCF’s website at www.achcf.org to donate online.

SAVE THE DATE: 15th Annual Golf Classic

The 15th Annual Golf Classic will take place on Monday, September 20, 2010, according to Foundation Chair Bruce Bauer. The fun-packed tournament will again take place at the beautiful Sequoyah Country Club in Oakland. Prior to tee-off, the event will feature a barbecue buffet lunch and contests such as putting, chipping, closest to the pin, and hole-in-one challenges. The tournament uses a scramble format to allow golfers at all different levels to participate and will be followed by an awards banquet and the ever-popular prize raffle.

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Legacy Campaign

Consider supporting ACHCF through a bequest, either by will or through a revocable trust instrument.

Bequests may be:

• Designated for particular purpose or left unrestricted

• Used to establish an endowed fund, or a current fund

• Made to honor the donor or loved one

Call 510-271-2503 for more information