At the May 22 groundbreaking event for the new adult hospital and Children’s Hospital towers, Loma Linda University Health publicly launched Vision 2020: The Campaign for a WHOLE Tomorrow, asking the community to “Build Hope” by joining together to help build the new towers.
Through this campaign, Loma Linda University Health is appealing to the community to give online or get involved through various opportunities available; it is the first time in the history of the organization that the public was asked directly to support local children.
Junior philanthropist Ulysses Hsu was prominently featured during the groundbreaking celebration. Ulysses asked friends to make a donation to the hospital instead of bringing him birthday gifts and was featured both on stage and in a video during the program.
Ulysses told the crowd of more than 3,000 community members, elected officials and Loma Linda University Health administrators, staff, faculty and students that he was inspired to give to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital after his friend was told he had cancer. He wisely informed the audience that 1) life is more important than gifts; 2) life lasts longer than gifts and toys, and; 3) he wanted to bring happiness to life and those children.
Ulysses also participated in the shovel lineup to break ground on the new facilities.
The new giving campaign ads on billboards, radio, television and magazines will feature real Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital patients, both current and past, making a direct plea for the community to “Give Now. Build Hope.” and visit the campaign site GiveVision2020.org. Ways to get involved range from donating your celebration funds to honoring a caregiver, from creating your own fundraising page to making a monthly gift to help Build Hope for our community, and more.
Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital is the sole children’s hospital for almost 1.2 million of California’s youth (San Bernardino, Riverside, Inyo and Mono counties). There will be 343 beds just for mothers and children when the new children’s tower is completed.
Each year, over 13,000 children stay at the hospital and over 75,000 children visit the hospital for ambulatory care.
The adult Medical Center is the only Level 1 trauma center in the same four-county region, providing quality health care to 40,000 inpatients and 1.5 million outpatients each year.
“Vision 2020: The Campaign for a WHOLE Tomorrow is a historic vision for the future of Loma Linda University Health,” says Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health. “We have been blessed with the continued support of our community and friends as we work to provide the best health care services possible.”
The new adult and Children’s Hospital towers are a part of a larger campus transformation project with an estimated cost of $1.4 billion. Beyond the Vision 2020 philanthropic campaign, additional funding for health care will come from state grants, bond financing and cash flow from operations.