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Hospital capital campaign narrows budget gap

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Sonoma Valley Sun


The difference between the cost of the new construction and equipment for Sonoma Valley Hospital and its original $35 million in bond funding, a gap that once stood at $11 million, has been closed to $2 million.

Spurring the capital campaign is the fundraising challenge announced in November by Les and Judy Vadasz. They promised that if the hospital raised $2 million by September, the Vadasz Family Fund would match it with its own donation of $2 million.

Harmony Plenty, the campaign director, announced this week that the hospital has raised $1 million since November – and the Vadasz family has responded by donating the first $1 million of its $2 million challenge grant.

“We knew our community would rise to the challenge and we are confident that it will raise the balance by September,” Les and Judy Vadasz said in statement.

When the Vadaszs announced the challenge last fall, the Campaign had already raised nearly $5 million. Lead donors included Marcia and Gary Nelson, Gerry and Bill Brinton, Kimberly and Simon Blattner, Bill Jasper, Phyllis and John Gurney, and Sarah and Darius Anderson.

Campaign Director Harmony Plenty said that with additional gifts from the community and the first $1 million challenge grant payment, the Capital Campaign for Emergency Care, as the drive is formally know, has now raised over $7 million towards the $11 million goal. She is confident that the community will match the second million dollars and the challenge grant will be fulfilled, bringing the campaign to $9 million.

“I continue to be overwhelmed by the support from our community, said Hospital CEO Kelly Mather. “The staff and the community have really gotten excited about making the match. We reached the first million sooner than anyone expected.”

The funds are needed to close the gap between the $35 million general obligation bond approved by Sonoma voters in 2008 and the revised costs of the project. The reconstruction, now underway, is mandated by seismic standards that require most California hospitals to retrofit, rebuild or close by 2013.

Included in the project are a new central utility plant, east/west wing infrastructure upgrades, west wing seismic upgrades, infrastructure for electronic health records, expanded parking, electrical upgrades, and the new wing for a new state-of-the-art Emergency Care Center and Surgery Center.

In above rendering by the design team, the new hospital structure is shown at left, adjacent to the remodeled current west wing, as seen looking east from Fourth Street West.




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