MCH Foundation Celebrated its Donors at the Annual Summit Circle Donor Appreciation Dinner

Ines & Joe Stewart

Lake Arrowhead, April 19, 2023 –

On Saturday, April 15, Mountains Community Hospital Foundation hosted its annual Summit Circle donor appreciation dinner at Miller’s Landing. Nearly 150 people gathered and learned the impact of their donations and met Mark Turner, CEO, and Dr. Beshoy Nashed, the new general surgeon.

Peter Venturini, Foundation Board President, welcomed attendees. “This dinner is our opportunity to thank our Summit Circle Members for your donations. Your generous support keeps our hospital thriving and growing. Of the $548,000 raised last year, Summit Circle donors donated $528,000 – 96% of total donations!” He also thanked Miller’s Landing for the great venue, Fox in the Woods Catering for the delicious food, and Little Bear Valley Blues for the music.

The MCH Foundation has given over $6.5 million to the hospital over the past 14 years to buy equipment and make improvements that would not be possible with patient revenue alone. The Foundation currently has total cash and investments of $2.4 million and, by the end of the year, plans to give $900,000 to the hospital to support its capital priorities.

Philanthropy is a significant and valued resource for the hospital, and donations have never been more critical. Like many businesses, the hospital is feeling the pandemic’s effects. It costs much more to provide hospital care than in pre-pandemic times. The primary cause is higher expenses driven by higher labor costs and medical supply chain shortages. Patient volumes haven’t fully rebounded either. The hospital also has reimbursement challenges. More than 50% of MCH’s patients are covered by Medi-Cal and another 25% by Medicare, and the reimbursements don’t fully cover costs. These financial challenges may be present for years to come. Hospital leadership remains confident they will weather the storm because they have significant financial reserves and strong advocacy on their behalf at the state and federal level.

Mark Turner, Kim McGuire, & Peter Venturini

Another primary reason for optimism is that MCH has incredible community support and donors. In 2022, the Foundation purchased $290,000 in equipment because of generous donations. You can read about these items on the hospital’s website.

“I’m always proud to brag about our donors, and the equipment we have, and the improvements we made because of them. They make sure the hospital can provide the best healthcare possible to everyone in our community, and I feel fortunate to belong to a community where this is valued,” said Kim McGuire, Director of Community Development and MCH Foundation Director.

In addition to donations, the Foundation is always seeking other funding sources and pursuing as many grants as possible. Earlier this year, they received funding from the County to give the Rural Health Clinic a facelift and make it more functional and ADA-accessible. They recently completed grant requests to charitable foundations for the new Insurance Eligibility Office and other renovations. In addition, during the recent storms, they submitted a Community Project Funding request to Senator Padilla’s office for $1,000,000 to help with the upcoming pharmacy relocation project.

Mark Turner, CEO, talked about how the hospital remained operational during the recent winter storms. He thanked the staff for their sacrifices and recognized Danny Pensabene, Environmental Services Manager, and Julie Davis, Emergency Department and Medical/Surgical Manager, for taking over as Incident Commander and Operations Chief, respectively, when the Incident Command System was activated.

Mark also talked about the construction projects on the campus. They just installed new flooring throughout the hospital and medical office building, and the new nurse’s station for the Medical/Surgical Department is complete. Renovations in the front entry are underway, and the new waiting and registration area should be done in the next two months.

Nancy Lavelle, JoBonita Rains, & Midge Reisman

Future construction projects include:

  • Insurance Eligibility Office near the front entrance of the hospital.
  • Pharmacy relocation to meet regulations of the Board of Pharmacy and other agencies.
  • New gift shop for the MCH Auxiliary to run.
  • New Medical/Surgical wing to meet seismic requirements by the 2030 seismic deadline.
  • Willerth Education Center to provide adequate staff training and community classes.

About the MCH Foundation’s Summit Circle

Donors who give a total annual gift of $500 or more will be recognized as members of the Summit Circle and will receive an invitation to the annual Summit Circle Donor Appreciation Event – a can’t-miss event and if you’re a part-time resident or new to the mountain, it’s a great way to meet people in the community. To join, or for more information, please visit www.mchcares.com/foundation/join-summit-circle/.

If now is not the right time for a gift, there are many options available to those who wish to include MCH Foundation in their long-range planning, such as a bequest in your will. If you have any questions, please contact Kim McGuire at (909) 436-3263 or email Kimberly.mcguire@mchcares.com.