Cottage Health Honors Volunteers
After a three-year pause during the pandemic, the Cottage Health Volunteer Awards Luncheon was back in person this past April at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.
Over the past year, 450 Cottage volunteers have donated close to 95,000 hours of service at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital and Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital.
Cottage volunteers serve across nearly every department, including Emergency, Surgery, Intensive Care, Physical Therapy, Orthopedics and Wound Care.
Ron Werft, President & CEO of Cottage Health, praised the vital work of volunteers during the awards luncheon with 150 volunteers in attendance.
“As volunteers, you have chosen to generously share your gifts, and we are all better because of you,” Mr. Werft said. “Your service is seen through every area of Cottage Health, and you are truly part of the care team.”
Special recognition and a lifetime recognition award were presented to Toni Straka for her 62 years and 15,578 hours of volunteer service at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
“Being at Cottage is a highlight of my week,” Ms. Straka said. “I look forward to meeting and working with wonderful people. Whether it is an easy day or one with many challenges, my goal is to leave with a smile on my face to mirror the smile of others..”
Cottage also awarded five $3,000 academic scholarships to Santa Ynez Valley High School students who plan to pursue their dreams of careers in healthcare. The recipients were Gabriel Rodriguez, Chase Sylvia, Diana Corona, Allison Linane and Jazmin Gonzalez Salinas.
Cottage Health
Donate now!www.cottagehealth.org
(860) 569-7290
Vice President for Advancement: Andrew Brown
Mission
To provide superior health care for and improve the health of our communities through a commitment to our core values of excellence, integrity, and compassion.
Begin to Build a Relationship
We know you care about where your money goes and how it is used. Connect with this organization’s leadership in order to begin to build this important relationship. Your email will be sent directly to this organization’s director of development and/or Executive Director.
I knew I’d have the best chance of recovery being close to home where people cared about me. I was right; Cottage provided outstanding care, and my care team felt like family.
A Commitment to the Health of Our Community
Your gifts have a lasting and transformative impact on the health of our community.
• Patient Care – Promoting programs, services and clinical excellence in these and other specialties:
• Heart & Vascular Center
• Children’s Medical Center
• Neuroscience Institute
• Emergency Trauma Center
• Women’s Health
• Population Health
• Primary Care
• Education and Innovation – Empowering future nurses, physicians, and healthcare leaders who will save and improve lives in our community
• Facilities – Expanding and renovating to meet patients’ needs, including the Renew & Rebuild Campaign to move the Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital to the Cottage Goleta campus
Key Supporters
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation Board:
Steven C. Zola, Chair
Ginger Salazar, Vice Chair
Eric Seale, Vice Chair
Richard S. Ponce, MD, Secretary
Thomas J. Cusack
Susan Christol-Deacon
Pamela B. Gann
Roberta L. Griffin
Robin Malone, MD
Steve Ortiz
Ernesto Paredes
Gamble T. Parks
Wesley Schooler, MD
Mark P. Scott, MD
Bhupi Singh
Yulun Wang, PhD
Foundation for Cottage Rehabilitation & Goleta Valley Cottage Hospitals, Executive Committee:
Katina Zaninovich, Chair
Rich Boyd, Vice Chair
Tony Vallejo, Treasurer
Tessa Kaplan, Secretary
Renée Nordstrand,
Immediate Past Chair
Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation, Executive Committee:
Richard Nagler, President
Judith Dale, Vice President
Tresha Sell, Secretary
Michael Sgobba, Treasurer