Hospital Foundation Unveils The Employee Donor Plaque

James R. Holmes, Redlands Community Hospital President/CEO, Jan Opdyke, President of RCH Foundation and Foundation Board of Directors honored the 275 Redlands Community Hospital (RCH) employees who raised $575,000 for the new emergency department (ED) expansion on Wednesday, August 7, 2019. To commemorate the generous support of each individual employee who pledged to the campaign, a naming plaque was unveiled listing each donor in the vestibule of the new ED. "The placement of this plaque at the entrance to the ED is significant because it highlights the dedication of RCH nurses, staff and administrators," said Holmes. "We want every person who walks through the front doors of the ED-- patient, family member or fellow RCH colleague—to know about the innovative, comprehensive emergency care provided by RCH, in part, through the generous gifts of its employees. Each day, RCH places our patients first. These generous individuals have once again signified that they have placed others above self." The Redlands Community Hospital Foundation (RCHF) launched the Vital Capital Campaign to help fund the renovation and expansion of the Emergency Department (ED) in January 2018. As part of this effort, the ​Employee Campaign sprang into action in April 2018. With the slogan "Building Our Future," campaign co-chairs Julie Ellis and Sue Baze recruited an outstanding team of 11 employee committee members to help lead the way in engaging every hospital staff member to pledge their support. The Employee Campaign successfully secured combined contributions from RCH staff totaling over $575,000 in little more than a month. According to Alyssa Bernal, an early supporter, "I decided to donate because if I work with an organization that I believe in, I should give back." Symbolizing the "Building Our Future" theme, a LEGO signing opportunity was also provided for each employee donor to sign an individual LEGO block. Later, all blocks will be pieced together as a finished mural to be overlaid with etched glass and displayed in the ED, a prominent visual reminder of the dedication of RCH employees to the future that continues to be built. Members of the employee campaign are Sue Baze, Jennifer Burroughs, Jamie Colton, Bailey Darkens, Gladys de la Cruz, Julie Ellis, Cesar Laguna, April Owens, Leah Strnad, Nicholas Topoleski, Joshua Vasquez, Brittany Villa, and Kimberly Williams.