Donor Recognition
Local Law Firm Makes A Difference In Our Community
August 4, 2016 - Rodriguez & Associates Trial Lawyers are donating $200,000 to the BMH Foundation to support the healing mission of Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. Jon Van Boening, Memorial’s President & CEO, announced the gift on August 4, joined by Foundation trustees, hospital leadership and Rodriguez & Associates attorneys and staff. “This gift will support the opening of the Neuro ICU and the establishment of the S.A. Camp Companies Burn Unit at the Grossman Burn Center. This major gift reflects Rodriguez & Associates’ commitment to protecting the health care needs of patients who have suffered serious neurological conditions and burn injuries,” said Van Boening.
Read More
James and Beverly Camp: Giving Back to the Community
In March 2016, the S.A. Camp Companies committed $1million to the BMH Foundation to ensure that pediatric burn victims in Kern County receive comprehensive treatment and support services as they recover from their injuries. This generous gift was made in honor of Mr. & Mrs. James Y. Camp and Mr. & Mrs. Donald M. Hart, Sr. The S.A. Camp Companies Burn Unit at the Grossman Burn Center, in coordination with Memorial’s Lauren Small Children’s Center, will offer best in class pediatric burn care services that, until now, have been unavailable in the Bakersfield community.
This comprehensive unit will include eight in-patient beds, an outpatient clinic, hyperbaric treatment and hydrotherapy, and an outreach program to underserved and at-risk populations throughout Kern County. Due to the high incidence of burn injuries among the pediatric population, we expect that 35-40% of the unit’s patients will be children.
Thanks to the philanthropic support provided by the Camp and Hart families, the program will be able to provide pressure garments for pediatric burn patients who are Medi-Cal recipients. (Children who are Medi-Cal recipients do not receive coverage for these garments, which are essential to the prevention of disfiguring scars during the painful healing process.) The Camp and Hart family support will also provide scholarships for burn patients to attend the Grossman Center Summer Camp, transportation vouchers for needy families, and assistance for pediatric burn victims’ families who have been made homeless as the result of house fires.
Speaking for the families, Jim noted that, “Our family has been blessed by this community and we are happy to give back in honor of our parents.” We gratefully salute the Camp and Hart families for their generosity and vision, which will directly benefit the children who come to Memorial for help and healing and will give these children the support they need for a successful recovery.
The Campbell Family
The Children’s Healing Garden at the Lauren Small Children’s Center became a reality in 2015, made possible by a generous gift from the Joe and Jana Campbell Family. The garden is named in loving memory of Jana’s mother, Helen Taylor Cobbs. “She loved to garden and I feel this will be a beautiful tribute to her,” said Jana. “The community has given so much support to the Lauren Small Children’s Center and we are happy to be part of it.”
The garden is a haven of natural beauty, serenity and whimsical elements, to comfort children and their families during a hospital stay. Healing gardens are beneficial because they promote relief from symptoms, stress reduction and improvement in a patient’s overall sense of wellbeing and hopefulness.
The Campbell family knows what it means to have a child in the hospital. “We had a sick child at UCLA for three weeks,” recalled Jana. “It’s important that children in our community can now receive wonderful care at Memorial, because when you have a sick child, you want to be able to stay close to home.” The Campbells, a longtime farming family, recognize that the health benefits offered by experiencing nature will help Memorial’s pediatric patients as they recover from serious illness, injuries and surgery.
The Helen Taylor Cobbs Children’s Healing Garden is a beautiful and lasting enhancement to the Pediatrics program at the Lauren Small Children’s Center. We gratefully salute the Campbells for their vision and generosity in donating this garden to the children who come to Memorial for help and healing.
Kevin, Tuesdy and Kyle Small: A Gift in Loving Memory
In 2011, Kevin, Tuesdy and Kyle Small, the parents and brother of Lauren Paige Small, donated $2 million Lauren's memory to the Children’s Center Initiative. The Children’s Center at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital was renamed the “Lauren Small Children’s Center".
”We’ve been very blessed and successful in this community. As a family, we would like to thank the community with this opportunity to give something back, Lauren’s father, Kevin, said. Lauren died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 11. Lauren loved animals and was an outstanding student and equestrienne. Her loving and resilient spirit is a continuing source of inspiration to her family and friends throughout the community.
“We are deeply honored that the Small family chose the Children’s Center as a legacy to Lauren,” stated Jon Van Boening, President of Memorial Hospital. “Their generous gift made possible the complete renovation of our Pediatrics Acute Care Department.” “The lives of countless children and their families will be touched by the vision and generosity of the Smalls. The Lauren Small Children’s Center is a shining light in our community,” noted Sue Benham, Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer.
The Munger Family
In 2012, Lajpat Rai Munger (1917-2016) and his sons, David (Baldev) and Kable (Kewel) made a $2 million gift to establish the Sarvanand Heart & Brain Center at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. The Munger family offered this landmark gift in the name of their guru, Swami Sarvanand Gir, whose philosophy of life expressed righteousness, hard work, compassion, charity, honesty and brotherhood.
The Munger family has lived by these ideals, creating business success from modest immigrant beginnings and sharing their prosperity through philanthropic giving. In 1966, Mr. and Mrs. Lajpat Munger left their life in India, traveling to America in search of a better life with more opportunity for their seven children. He had high hopes, settling in a small farming community in the northern Sacramento area where he worked as a farm laborer. After five years, he was able to purchase his first farm. Desiring to grow their business, the Mungers ventured to the southern San Joaquin Valley.
Munger Farms and its affiliated companies, are leading growers, packers and shippers of berries and pistachios worldwide. They also grow almonds and olives.
In 2014, The Munger family made an additional gift of $1.5 million for the hybrid catheterization lab in the Sarvanand Heart & Brain Center.
Kari Anderson
In 2011, Kari Anderson made a $1million gift to the Lauren Small Children’s Center. The gift honors the memory of her late husband, Robert A. Grimm.“This is a historic and transformational gift for Memorial Hospital,” stated Jon Van Boening, President and CEO of Memorial Hospital. “The donation will enable us to build the Robert A. Grimm Children’s Pavilion for Emergency Services, which will include separate waiting and treatment areas for pediatric patients who visit our Emergency Department. This addition is a wonderful component of the services we continue to develop and will expand our ability to provide full service care to our youngest patients.”
Mrs. Anderson stated, “As parents of five children, Bob and I learned first-hand the stress of obtaining emergency medical care for our children. I am grateful for the opportunity to help relieve some stress for other mothers and fathers.”
Acknowledging the impact of this gift, Sue Benham, Vice President & Chief Philanthropy Officer, noted that “None of us ever knows when our child or grandchild will need emergency care. The Children’s Pavilion will help us deliver essential care in a comforting environment for children and their families.” “We are honored to work with Kari to realize her philanthropic vision to improve the lives of children in Kern County,” said Mr. Van Boening. “Memorial Hospital has always enjoyed support from generous donors who care about making our community a better place. Kari is continuing this tradition and taking it to a new level. We are extremely grateful for her support.”
In April, 2017, Mrs. Anderson and the Robert Grimm Family Foundation made an additional gift of $1 million in support of the Robert A. Grimm Children's Pavilion for Emergency Services. We are exceedingly grateful for this remarkably generous gift.
Don and Sherrie McMutrey: Passion and Commitment
In Fall 2006, Patricia Houchin, chair of the Campaign for Memorial Hospital's Advancement Committee, invited her friend Sherrie McMurtrey to attend a tour and luncheon at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. After that first meeting, Sherrie knew she wanted to become more involved and get her husband involved as well.
"After my tour of the Center for Wound Care and Hyperbarics, I knew Don would be interested in this," said Sherrie. Don jokes that he was invited for lunch and the next thing he knew he was on a fundraising committee. All joking aside, Don and Sherrie are passionate about healthcare in Kern County. "I want to see Kern County have the best healthcare facilities available. We are happy to be able to give back to our community in this way," said Don.
Not only did they join the Advancement Committee and commit to helping raise funds for The Campaign for Memorial Hospital, they made a significant monetary commitment. Don and Sherrie made a pledge of stocks worth $100,000, which was paid over a four-year period. Sherrie said that the fact that 100 percent of their donation will stay local was a big factor in their decision to commit both their money and their time.
A native of Bakersfield, Don and his family have been in business in this community for many years. His father, N.C. McMurtrey, known as "Mac", bought Southern Auto Supply in 1956. In 1966, Don and his brother Jon bought into the business and formed a family partnership that expanded to cover all of California and Nevada with the Carquest brand.
The McMurtreys are involved in Memorial Hospital in a number of ways. Not only are Don and Sherrie volunteering their time and money, but their daughter-in-law is a registered nurse in Labor and Delivery and Don's mother, Stella, was a member of the hospital auxiliary in the late 1950's.