2021 Year In Review - Valley Children's Healthcare Foundation

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YEAR IN REVIEW | FISCAL YEAR 2021

Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors Chair | Dan Adams Vice-Chair | Ken Ramos Secretary | Linda Bliss President | Robert Saroyan Treasurer | Michele Waldron Immediate Past Chair | Kim Ruiz Beck

2021 Year In Review

Erin Berberian-Gleason Michael Carr Blair Cunnings Marty Flaming Terance Frazier Kathy Horstmann Huebert Marla McClaskey Paul McDougal Lance Mouw Patrick Murphy Caren Myers Skip Nugent Carl Refuerzo J.R. Shannon Richard Shehadey Debbie Smades-Henes Nadarasa Visveshwara, MD Kevin Williams

Directors Emeriti Jeannine Campos Grech David Nalchajian Bill Smittcamp

2021 Fiscal Year Covers October 1, 2020 - September 30, 2021

Letter From the Foundation President

Dear Friends, It has been a challenging year for our clinical colleagues who have bravely helped kids throughout this pandemic, including more than 2,400 kids who have been treated for COVID-19 this fiscal year and the more than 166,000 children who came to Valley Children’s in the past year for other conditions. On behalf of Valley Children’s Healthcare President and CEO Todd Suntrapak, we thank you for your generous support. Your kindness throughout this trying year has provided Valley Children’s the resources necessary for our clinical teams to transform the challenges wrought by the pandemic into opportunities to be the leaders in children’s health in the Central Valley. Though much has changed in our world over the last 19 months, your generosity and the generosity of tens of thousands of people like you have remained constant, enabling Valley Children’s to continue its legacy of providing the best care for children.

Our work is simple. In their hour of need, Central Valley families expect and deserve the highest quality care. Your support helps Valley Children’s recruit the best pediatric specialists and purchase life-saving equipment to allow us to meet those expectations in a growing Valley with an ever-increasing need for services.

Your philanthropy allows Valley Children’s to do something beyond treating patients. We bring comfort to children and hope to families.

We are incredibly grateful for your continued generosity that enables us to remain focused on our precious mission: to continually improve the health and wellbeing of children. For that, we cannot thank you enough.

Warmest regards,

Robert V. Saroyan President Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation

From the Foundation President | 1

Local Business Leader Makes Generous Gift to Valley Children’s Hospital in Support of Families Mr. Claude C. Laval III generously donated $1 million to Valley Children’s to help patients and families cope with the burden of non-medical financial needs associated with hospitalization. This includes expenses like rent for families who take extended absences from employment to manage their child’s care, or car repairs to travel to and from the hospital. To honor Mr. Laval and his late wife, Betty Lou, Valley Children’s has renamed its fund to support patients and families facing hardships as the “Claude and Betty Lou Laval Angel Fund.”

“Mr. Laval and his family have helped chart Valley Children’s course for five decades through their leadership and generous philanthropy,” says Valley Children’s Healthcare President and CEO Todd Suntrapak. “Betty Lou served on the Board of Trustees during the 1970s and 1980s, and their daughter, Mendy Laval Alkotob, has served as a Trustee since 2000. Betty Lou was also a longtime member of the La Feliz Guild, which raises awareness and funds for Valley Children’s. Her daughter later joined, as well. Claude and Betty Lou have made investments in endocrinology, capital projects, healing arts and now patients and their families. The Laval family has been integral to shaping children’s healthcare in the Valley.”

Mr. Claude and Mrs. Betty Lou Laval

2 | Claude and Betty Lou Laval Angel Fund

A Successful Year for Costco’s Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Campaign In May of 2021, eight Costcos across the Central Valley raised more than $560,000 for Valley Children’s.

We are so thankful for their tremendous efforts to change kids’ health and to change the future.

The competitive spirit amongst Costcos is always strong. This year, each Costco had a kid captain to lead them through the CMN Hospitals campaign. Each captain is a patient of Valley Children’s and visited their store multiple times throughout the month of May to cheer them on.

The Costco warehouse in Merced led the way with more than $100,000 raised, which is an absolutely amazing achievement that ranked among the 10 highest fundraising warehouses in the nation.

We are immensely grateful for our seven other Costcos: Clovis, Hanford, Modesto, North Fresno, Turlock, Visalia and West Fresno. Your kindness helps ensure that the more than 1.3 million children in our region can receive the best care from our nationallyrecognized physicians and staff.

2021 Costco Kickoff

Costco | 3

Richburg Family Generously Supports Valley Children’s Pediatric Ophthalmology Department Longtime Fresno ophthalmologist Dr. Frederick Richburg and his surviving spouse, Linda, will be remembered at Valley Children’s Hospital for generations to come. The alcove between the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and Endeavor inpatient wing was named in celebration of Dr. Frederick and Mrs. Linda Richburg.

Mrs. Richburg made a generous gift of $500,000 to support the Ophthalmology Department, which directly relates to Dr. Richburg’s life’s work.

Dr. Richburg was a pioneer in the early stages of cataract surgery, enabling people to see and lead normal lives through surgical intraocular lens implants.

He was the first in the San Joaquin Valley and one of the first in the United States to build and operate in his own ambulatory surgical center inside the office. This significantly brought down the cost of cataract surgery and allowed patients to avoid overnight hospital stays for the procedure.

Linda Richburg worked alongside her husband for many years as a registered nurse assisting in surgery.

Together, they began Mission Cataract, providing free surgery for blind patients without insurance in the local area who could not otherwise afford the procedure.

Mission Cataract has since grown to be a national event.

Dr. Frederick and Mrs. Linda Richburg

4 | Dr. Frederick and Linda Richburg

Both Fred and Linda also enjoyed helping local seniors during Christmas by providing a free Christmas dinner and dance for people without families with whom to spend their holiday. Linda Richburg is proud to continue purposeful philanthropy by supporting the Pediatric Ophthalmology Department at Valley Children’s Hospital in memory of Dr. Richburg.

Leon S. Peters Foundation Advances Care for Pediatric Oncology Patients The Leon S. Peters Foundation generously donated $1 million to Valley Children’s to establish “The Endowed Chair of Oncology and Hematology, Donated by Leon S. Peters,” and create “The Leon S. Peters Oncology and Hematology Endowment.”

“The Leon S. Peters Foundation has a rich legacy of generous investment across the Valley and to Valley Children’s mission at both our main campus in Madera and our outpatient center in Fowler,” said Todd Suntrapak, President and CEO of Valley Children’s Healthcare. “The Peters family’s most recent gift will have a multigenerational, positive impact on the care that Valley Children’s provides for pediatric oncology and hematology patients. We are tremendously grateful for their support.”

“This gift and the creation of an endowed chair will greatly enhance the mission and vision of the Hematology and Oncology Departments at Valley Children’s to provide the best care for children suffering from life-threatening cancer and other blood disorders right where they live”, said Dr. Vinod Balasa, Division Chief and Medical Director of the Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

Leon S. Peters, son of Armenian immigrants, was born in Fowler, CA, in 1905. He grew up on the family farm and graduated from Fowler High School. In 1929, he went to work as a salesman for Valley Foundry and Machine Works selling irrigation equipment. In 1937, he purchased the company. Due to his entrepreneurial vision, he led the company through change and expansion to become a world-recognized supplier of winery equipment.

Leon S. Peters 1905-1983

“The Leon S. Peters Foundation values the mission of Valley Children’s and the very vital work of the oncology program,” said Leon S. Peters Foundation Chair Kenneth K. Peters. “If we could have a small part in supporting children with cancer and provide them with resources they need to fight this awful disease, the foundation stands prepared to join the great team at Valley Children’s in this fight.”

Leon S. Peters Foundation | 5

ABC30 “Futures Worth Fighting For” Telethon Kept the Miracles Happening ABC30 kept the miracles happening through the annual “Futures Worth Fighting For” Telethon. Over the past six years, ABC30 has helped raise more than $700,000 for Valley Children’s Hospital.

This year, ABC30, our community and our generous sponsors - including The Wonderful Company, Mid Valley Packaging & Supply Company, Hilmar Cheese Company, Mono Wind Casino, Sun-Maid, Tachi Palace and Casino Resort, Wild Electric, Dalena Farms, EYE-Q Vision Care, The Fahrney Automotive Group, The Fresno County Office of Education and the Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association - collectively raised $135,360 for Valley Children’s Hospital.

Much like last year, the Telethon was held at an off-site location. Although away from the hospital rotunda, phone bank volunteers were ready to take donations for the 7th annual event that took place on August 12. For an entire day, ABC30 anchors shared about the services and care Valley Children’s provides

6 | ABC30 “Futures Worth Fighting For” Telethon

for the children in our community, like this year’s CMN Hospitals Champion, Fernando.

At 5 years old, Fernando was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the white blood cells. For three and a half years, Fernando endured regular chemotherapy treatments. It was a long, difficult road for young Fernando and his family.

Finally, in October 2019, 8-year-old Fernando rang the “No Mo’ Chemo” bell at Valley Children’s to mark the end of his cancer treatments. Staff, family, friends and even Fernando’s baseball team were there to cheer him on. Today, Fernando is thriving and loves playing baseball, his favorite sport.

It is because of generous donors and sponsors that miracles happen every day at Valley Children’s.

Thank you, once again, to ABC30 and all of our sponsors for supporting the event this year. We also want to thank all those who volunteered and helped make this event a reality.

Spirit Halloween For many years, Spirit Halloween has hosted a wonderful Halloween party for patients at Valley Children’s Hospital, during which kids have received free costumes. This year, due to COVID-19, we celebrated Halloween a little bit differently, while still providing patients with a wonderful experience.

Courtesy of Spirit Halloween, our kiddos were able to pick out a costume and pumpkin. Valley Children’s Child Life Services team was there to show patients their costume options, limiting the handling to Valley Children’s staff. Later in the day, some of the patients put on their costumes and goodie bags were delivered across the hospital. There were even crafts available in the playroom, hosted by Child Life Services. We would like to thank the Child Life team, staff throughout the hospital who helped make this possible, and our Spirit Halloween stores for donating costumes, goodie bags and crafts.

Spirit Halloween | 7

Thank you, Central Valley, for giving our kids hope because their

On behalf of Valley Children’s and the children and families we serve, we want to express our appreciation for your support. Especially during these trying times, your generous support greatly helps our local children get back to everyday life full of playing, growing and learning.

Every donation matters. If you are able, please consider making a donation to help care for Central Valley kids. You can make a donation by calling Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation at 559-353-7100 or online at donate.valleychildrens.org.

Elise 2021 Kids Day Ambassador

futures are worth fighting for.

Thank You