POMONA, Calif., March 19, 2018 — Steady rainfall didn’t keep 900 guests away from celebrating
Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare at its annual
Tribute to Courage Gala on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel and Conference
Center in Pomona, Calif.
Three Casa Colina patients were guests of honor – Katrina Hannah
of La Verne, Daniel Franco of Rancho Cucamonga and Johnny “Ringo”
Scharnweber of Phelan – and their rehabilitation from traumatic
injuries inspired guests.
Film actress and television personality Bonnie Hunt hosted the gala and
chatted with each honoree onstage about Casa Colina’s continuum
of care that led to their recovery.
Katrina Hannah was one of more than 500 injured at the Las Vegas mass shooting
on Oct. 1. Arriving at Casa Colina 17 days after the shooting, Katrina
underwent inpatient rehabilitation until the first week of November. She
has had outpatient therapy five days a week since then and just completed
her master’s degree in business at the University of La Verne.
Daniel Franco’s professional boxing career ended with a knockout
during a fight in Iowa in June 2017. The resulting pressure from bleeding
in the brain threatened his life. He had two surgeries in Iowa to relieve
pressure on his brain and another at Casa Colina to combat an infection
before he could start rehabilitation. Today he teaches boxing at the Warzone
Boxing Club in Rialto with his father and coach Al Franco.
Johnny "Ringo" Scharnweber remembers the moment he misjudged
a turn during a championship desert motorcycle race in January 2017. He
went headfirst over the handlebars at an estimated 60 miles an hour and
landed face first in wet sand, resulting in paralysis from the neck down
with little hope of walking again. One week after arriving at Casa Colina,
Johnny's therapist team told him, "We're going to walk today."
Not only did he walk onto the Gala stage, but also danced with his wife
Jennifer during the social hour.
Standing ovations, boisterous cheers and applause greeted each as they
were introduced.
“I don’t think there is a greater endorsement for all the work
we focus on here at Casa Colina than the results we have shared here tonight.
There is no greater ‘thank you’ than to see them here tonight
being the forceful engaging people they are,” said Dr. Felice Loverso,
Casa Colina President and CEO.
“These people are three of thousands of inpatient life stories that
Casa Colina touches every year, when Casa Colina staff is faced with the
questions ‘What is the best approach for this patient? What is the
best way to balance the challenges that bring progress and support that
fosters success?’” Dr. Loverso said. He added that Casa Colina
serves more than 80,000 outpatient visits each year.
“What is the vision behind it? The vision is quite simple –
to treat not only the patients of today to the highest standard but to
be ready for the person who will have a disastrous car accident, fall
from a ladder, or suffer a spinal cord injury and to be ready to treat
them in the highest standards tomorrow,” Dr. Loverso said. “On
behalf of all those patients we’ve been honored to serve and all
those we will serve, we thank you all for your support.”
Dr. Loverso surprised Bonnie Hunt with a special “thank you”
for hosting the Gala the last 10 years and to honor her own work as an
oncology nurse before her acting career started. The Bonnie Hunt Nurse
Scholar Award will be given each year “to a Casa Colina nurse who
best exemplifies not only the best of nursing and patient care on a day-to-day
basis but also in seeking new knowledge to advance their skills,”
he said. The 2018 recipient of the Bonnie Hunt Nurse Scholar award is
Georgette Ramirez.
The
Tribute to Courage Gala is Casa Colina’s primary fundraising event and this year’s
event raised over $510,000. All proceeds benefit a Casa Colina Foundation
fund that helps provide care for under-resourced patients and, in some
cases, temporary housing for their families so they may be near their
loved ones during the often-lengthy rehabilitation process.
Platinum sponsors were Morrison Healthcare and Pacific Rim Rehabilitation
Specialists. Gold Plus sponsors were Moss Adams and Williams, Beck &
Forbes. Gold sponsors were California Kidney Specialists, Citrus Valley
Anesthesia Medical Group, Elias Concrete and Paving, First Law Group,
Jensen Family Trust, Dr. Felice and Denise Loverso, Odjaghian Law Group,
Panish Shea & Boyle LLP, The Scudder Family, Shernoff Bidart Echeverria
LLP, Showcase Concrete Corporation, UCLA Health Neurosurgery and Dr. Kenneth Wogenson.
For more information about Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare
or to donate to the Casa Colina Foundation, visit www.casacolina.org,
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 acute rehabilitation
and medical surgical care, outpatient services, post-acute residential
rehabilitation care, children's services, adult day health care, specialized
physician clinics, diagnostic imaging, ambulatory surgery center, outdoor
recreation program, a medical office building, and more. The Casa Colina
Hospital Medical-Surgical Wing 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