Hearts of the Hospital
Founded in 2019, the Sequoia Hospital Foundation’s Hearts of the Hospital group was established to help advance the decades-long legacy of Sequoia Hospital through public education and engagement. The group also works to raise funds necessary to transform patient care and programs, and secure cutting-edge technology today and well into the future. This group of dedicated women is comprised of many of Sequoia’s most engaged and long-standing volunteers, donors and community advocates.
In the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, Hearts of the Hospital members including former Foundation Board chair Joan Ulibarri, began reaching out to donors and restaurants to supply meals to Sequoia’s caregivers working on the pandemic’s front lines. Ultimately, more than 40 local restaurants and businesses came together to support Sequoia’s employees, with many returning to supply meals time and again. Their donations had a significant impact in uplifting the spirits of the hospital’s caregivers during the challenging early days of COVID.
More recently, the Hearts of the Hospital held an innovative and successful threeday virtual event in August to benefit the Foundation’s Caregiver Response Fund. The event was chaired by Carolyn Rianda with Lisa Brennan and Julie Bell serving as co-chairs. Attendees heard directly from Sequoia’s President, Bill Graham, Chief Medical Officer, Dieter Bruno, M.D., and frontline healthcare workers about the hospital’s response to the pandemic and the importance of community support. Featuring a silent auction and highlighted by a trio of private performances by internationally-renowned opera singer Pasquale Esposito, singer/songwriter Ruth Gerson (pictured below left) and singer/songwriter Summer Brennan (pictured below right), the event successfully raised more than $42,000.
