The heavy rainfall and closure of Hwy. 101 did not dampen the spirits of the more than 430 guests who braved the elements on Feb. 2 to attend Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation’s Tiara Ball at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara.
The popular black-tie gala raised more than $508,000 to benefit emergency, trauma and critical care services at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Organized by a 15-member committee of community volunteers and hospital staff, the event designers transformed the resort ballroom with giant suspended lampshades, a glamorous red and gold color-theme, and an abundance of white floral arrangements.
Alexandra Nourse chaired the event, also known as The Party of the Year, for the third consecutive year. Speakers included Nourse; Greg Faulkner, the new chair of the Cottage Health Board of Directors; and Ron Werft, president/CEO of Cottage Health.
“The events of last year reinforced the critical importance of foresight, planning, and readiness to respond to larger, community-wide emergencies,” Werft said.
He thanked the crowd for their support of Cottage through the Tiara Ball or other forms of giving, which have helped to rebuild critical care units, enabled the hospital to buy life-saving technology and provided ongoing training to physicians, nurses and caregiving teams.
A video, featuring a former patient, Neil Myers, who sustained critical injuries in a cycling accident in August and was cared for at Cottage, was previewed at the event.
The video illustrated Myers’ remarkable resilience and recovery and the extraordinary medical team that worked to help him get back on his bicycle, and back to his family and his life.
Several of Myers’ Cottage caregivers attended the event, which provided for a heartfelt reunion with him and his wife Leigh. To view the video, visit www.cottagehealth.org/tiaraball.
Since 2005, the Tiara Ball has raised funds to improve the lives of thousands of adults and children who are critically ill or injured. Proceeds from the 2019 Tiara Ball will be designated to help build the emergency department of the future for the community.
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital will become one of a select group of hospitals across the nation capable of providing this innovative new care model for patients to receive more rapid diagnosis and treatment when they turn to us for care.
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is able to provide the highest quality care in a state-of-the-art facility in large part because of the generosity of so many within our community. The cost of providing these lifesaving services is significant and no one in acute need is turned away.
Sponsors of the 2019 Tiara Ball include:
Heart Sponsors
The Bollag Family
Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree
Chivaroli & Associates Insurance Services
Emerald Sponsors
Ron and Laurie Biscaro
Ginny and Tim Bliss & Suzanne Duca and Ross Quigley
Christine and Reece Duca
David and Anna Grotenhuis
Joan and Bob Hollman
Sandra Lynne
NTT DATA Services
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
For more about the Tiara Ball and ways to support Cottage Health, visit www.cottagehealth.org/tiaraball.
— Maria Zate for Cottage Health.