Skip to Main Content

Rotary Club Donates $21200 to Support Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Development

Posted in:
The Marian Regional Medical Center (MRMC) Foundation recently accepted a $21,200 gift from the Rotary Club of Santa Maria in support of the hospital's development of a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

MRMC’s Pediatric Program was identified as the charitable benefactor of Rotary Club’s Nov. 7 Sips and Sombreros Fundraiser event. The $21,200 raised during Sips and Sombreros for the PICU set a record for the most funds raised as part of a call to action at Rotary Club’s annual fundraiser.

“There is a critical need for highly specialized pediatric care on the Central Coast, where such services are currently almost non-existent,” explains Ricardo Flores, MD, Pediatric Intensivist. “Children requiring advanced pediatric care are transferred out of the area, despite a heavy influx of pediatric patient admissions at Marian. These young patients can be fragile and distressed by travel and a lengthy hospital stay away from home. Keeping the pediatric patients close to loved ones and familiarity on the Central Coast is important to their healing process.”

The $21,200 donation check was presented by the Rotary Club of Santa Maria to MRMC administrators on Jan. 5 at the Santa Maria Inn.

Jason Diani, Rotary Club of Santa Maria President-Elect, says, “When learning about the PICU development at Marian, I was amazed at the number of children who are sent out of the area for high acuity specialty care. It’s a real hardship on families and our little ones who are separated from their families. Due to the unprecedented support of our community, the largest amount ever in the history of the Rotary Club of Santa Maria was raised for an undeniably worthy cause.”

MRMC exceeds 250 pediatric patient admissions annually, the pediatric volume required for a PICU. In addition, since the opening of the new MRMC in 2012, the hospital has experienced an 18 percent increase in pediatric patient volume with more than 10,000 inpatient visits, 26,500 outpatient visits, and 54,000 emergency department visits.                                                    

About Marian Regional Medical Center

Marian Regional Medical Center, located in Santa Maria, California, is rated among the top 10% in the nation for cardiac care, and is a designated STEMI Receiving Center (ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction) in Santa Barbara County.  Santa Barbara County STEMI receiving programs earned the Silver Award from the American Heart Association for excellence in patient care. Marian has achieved prestigious designation as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission. In addition, Marian has received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Clinical Excellence Award. The medical center’s cancer program is distinguished as the only comprehensive Community Cancer Center on the Central Coast.  The need to meet the demand for quality, technologically-advanced care for a growing community led Marian to open its doors to a new state-of-the-art, 191-bed facility in the spring of 2012.  The new facility houses the largest and most comprehensive perinatology/neonatology program on the Central Coast providing the most compassionate, quality care to the littlest of patients. Marian is a Dignity Health member of the Central Coast, which also includes Arroyo Grande Community Hospital in Arroyo Grande, CA and French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, CA, St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, CA and St. John’s Pleasant Valley in Camarillo, CA. Dignity Health of the Central Coast is an integrated network of top quality hospitals, physicians from the most prestigious medical schools, and comprehensive outpatient services including primary care offices, premier ambulatory surgery centers, technologically-advanced laboratories and imaging centers and a full service home health agency; all recognized for quality, safety and service.  Each hospital is supported by an active philanthropic Foundation to help meet the growing health care needs of our communities.

Publish date: 

Monday, January 18, 2016