POMONA, Calif., February 14, 2017 – To help celebrate its nearly 80-year history of hope and healing,
Casa Colina and over 900 event supporters welcomed Laila Ali as the special
guest speaker at its Tribute to Courage Gala on Saturday, February 4 at
the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center in Pomona.
The Tribute to Courage Gala honors Casa Colina’s past and present
courageous patients as well as those who work toward collaboration and
research to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
This year’s event honored Brent Watkins, a college student and basketball
player who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2015 as the result of
an automobile accident. Brent’s progress and recovery through Casa
Colina’s continuum of care has been monumental and he has recently
returned to his studies at Citrus College and Mt. San Antonio College.
Also honored was Nancy Smith, a wife and mother who was also involved
in an automobile accident while travelling with her daughter’s Girl
Scout Troop in Canada in 2008. Nancy suffered a spinal cord injury that
left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. Her 3-year+ participation
in a medical research study at Casa Colina continues today and has helped
to promote the understanding of skills and abilities of people with tetraplegia
by using computer technology and sheer “brain power”.
Guest keynote speaker Laila Ali, daughter of the late beloved global icon
and humanitarian, Muhammad Ali, is a four-time undefeated boxing world
champion, whose stellar record includes 24 wins and zero losses. Laila
is heralded as the most successful female in the history of women’s
boxing. She is also a fitness and wellness expert, television personality,
cooking enthusiast, and founder of the Laila Ali Lifestyle Brand.
The event was hosted by Renee Lawless, a well-known theatrical actress
and singer. A special musical presentation was also made by Gloria Loring,
mother or Robin Thicke and recording artist of the #1 hit song “Friends
and Lovers” and singer of the television theme song for “Facts
of Life”. She also played the character of “Liz Chandler”
on “Days of Our Lives”.
“We would like to thank the wonderful Laila Ali, Renee Lawless, Gloria
Loring and our very generous donors who helped make this event such an
incredible success,” said Dr. Felice L. Loverso, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Casa Colina. “What made this night so memorable
was being able to honor the indomitable spirits of Brent Watkins and Nancy
Smith. We are humbled by their relentlessness and pursuit of living their
lives to the fullest potential.”
The
Tribute to Courage gala is Casa Colina’s primary fundraising event and this year’s
event rose over $500,000. All proceeds benefit Casa Colina’s free
and uncompensated care fund, which helps provide care for under-resourced
patients and, in some cases, temporary housing for patients’ families
so they may be near their loved ones during the often-lengthy rehabilitation
process. This fund allows Casa Colina to continue its unwavering dedication
to its mission statement of “providing individuals the opportunity
to maximize their medical recovery and rehabilitation potential efficiently
in an environment that recognizes their uniqueness, dignity and self-esteem.”
Platinum sponsors were Couts Heating and Cooling, Inc., and SEI. The event’s
Gold Plus sponsor was Cerner, along with many Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors.
For more information about Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare
or to donate to the Casa Colina Foundation, please log on to
www.casacolina.org or e-mail
foundation@casacolina.org or call (909) 596-7733, Ext. 2232.
About Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare
Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare was founded in 1936 in
Chino, Calif., under the leadership of Frances Eleanor "Mother"
Smith and other community leaders and physicians to provide rehabilitative
care to children with polio. In the early 1950s, when polio was at epidemic
proportions, a plan was developed to build a new hospital in nearby Pomona,
Calif. In 1959, the new hospital was completed, and Casa Colina expanded
its physical rehabilitation services to concentrate on treating people
of all ages and disabilities resulting from neurological and/or orthopedic
conditions. In recent years, Casa Colina has renovated its entire 20-acre
Pomona campus to build a continuum of rehabilitative care unmatched in
the Western United States. Casa Colina was recognized by
Modern Healthcare in 2015 as the 13th largest rehabilitation provider in the country. Services offered to the
community include a state-of-the-art hospital offering inpatient rehabilitation
and medical-surgical care, outpatient services, post-acute residential
rehabilitation care, children's services, adult day health care, specialized
physician clinics, diagnostic imaging, outdoor recreation program, a medical
office building, and more. The new Casa Colina Hospital Medical-Surgical
Wing Medical opened to the community on April 1, 2016. For more information,
please visit
www.casacolina.org.
CONTACT:
Stephanie Bradhurst
Director of Communications
Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare
909/596-7733, Ext. 2227
SBradhurst@casacolina.org