Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Development Foundation Relaunches Women in Philanthropy Initiative to Support Hospital's Mission

Tuesday, October 16, 2018, RIDGECREST, California: On Thursday, September 28, 2019, Ridgecrest Regional Hospital’s Development Foundation Executive Director Kim Metcalf invited some of the city’s local women to her home for the first Women in Philanthropy event. This first event was a social to introduce the idea to some of the women who had expressed an interest in supporting the foundation.

The meeting was led by Metcalf and foundation board chair Geri Haradon, who explained to the group that their vision is to unite contributions from women to support Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Development Foundation through a collective voice. In doing so, they plan to cultivate local women as philanthropic leaders, providing resources to fund the needs of the hospital, celebrate their impact and attain recognition as a difference maker.

“Your passion, participation, and contribution to Women in Philanthropy really can make a positive difference in our community’s health care”, said Haradon. “When you promote, educate, and create awareness about the Development Foundation, great things can be accomplished. You are the ambassadors for the Development Foundation and as such represent the hospital. If the Women in Philanthropy all do a little, nobody will have to do a lot for the benefit of the hospital.”

Women in Philanthropy is not entirely new to the hospital as Metcalf explains, “I am very excited to re-establish Women in Philanthropy under the direction of the RRH Development Foundation. This group of amazing women will open so many doors for more community awareness and involvement as well as greatly enriching the lives of our community by the financial assistance the group will be providing to the hospital”.

Members will be invited to attend regular meetings in an effort to come up with new and innovative ways to generate funding to support the hospital’s mission. Membership is open to all who support the work of RRH and requires an annual donation. For further information about Women in Philanthropy and the RRH Development Foundation, please contact the foundation director at: (760) 499-3955.

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Notes to Editors:

About Ridgecrest Regional Hospital

Ridgecrest Regional Hospital is a nonprofit, full service, acute care hospital, accredited by DNV Healthcare. Located in Ridgecrest, California, it was founded in 1945 by Dr. Thomas A. Drummond, who realized the need for medical care, to support the then recently established Naval Ordnance Test Station. Today, RRH continues as the only regional healthcare system providing a variety of services to the rural communities of the Southern Sierra. Our Vision is to be a leader with other healthcare providers in offering the highest quality, patient-centered, affordable healthcare and wellness services to the people of our service area.

The RRH health system currently consists of 78 active medical staff members and advance practice professionals, offering multi-specialty healthcare and state-of-the-art facilities, including Gastroenterology Lab, Cardiology, Dermatology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics and an accredited Sleep Lab, to name a few. The hospital also offers a Cancer Center, as part of an ongoing oncology affiliation with UC Davis Health Cancer Care Network, and is one of only a number of hospitals across the country to install FDA-approved state-of-the-art automated breast screening ultrasound technology in the Women’s Imaging Department, clinically proven to increase cancer detection by 35.7%. The hospital has been awarded the ACR gold seal of accreditation in Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, representing the highest level of image quality and patient safety and the Emergency Department has been designated by Kern County Public Health, as a Level IV trauma center, providing stabilization and advanced trauma life support.

Future plans include a new Emergency Room, new helipad for air ambulance services and construction is currently underway for the relocation of the South Medical Plaza. For more information, visit us at: Facebook.com/RidgecrestRegionalHospital.