Press Releases

VICTORVILLE — It was a night of celebration during St. Joseph Health, St. Mary’s 25th Annual Gala where over a quarter million dollars was raised to help visiting patients.

During the sold-out event at the Hilton Garden Inn in Victorville on Saturday, St. Joseph Health, St. Mary’s celebrated 60 years of service to the community and saw an estimated $300,000 raised to purchase new laparoscopy towers for the medical center’s surgery department.

Nearly 380 people attended the black-tie affair, which sold out more than three weeks before the annual event, according to Director of Communication and Marketing Ryan Orr.

St. Joseph Health, St. Mary’s received a big financial boost when Roy Clennan, owner of Mortgage Solutions, matched $50,000 during the gala’s paddle raise. Clennan’s mother-in-law was saved by St. Mary during a surgery in the early ‘90s, according to Orr.

The Executive Leadership Team of the Foundation, which have given $10,000 in support of the gala each year, was surprised when the directors and managers of the foundation matched them.

Eric Schmidt, the gala’s master of ceremonies and Foundation board member, announced that Betty Lou Gross, who could not attend the gala, had won the St. Joseph Health, St. Mary Spirit Award.

Schmidt told the Daily Press the award was given to Gross as she exemplifies the Foundation’s mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus in the tradition of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange by continually improving the health and quality of life of the people in the communities the group serves.

Gross and her late husband, Frederick, established a million dollar nursing endowment to provide scholarships to nursing students, a clinical learning center bearing their name, along with a nursing reference library to assist in educating the nursing staff, and lobby furniture for the Apple Valley and Adelanto clinics.

Several Values in Action awards were presented to individuals, including a Service Award to Dr. Hala Sabry, a physician in the medical center emergency room, and the Dignity Award to Victor Koivisto, a registered nurse and clinical nurse coordinator from the center’s wound care department.

The Excellence Award went to Sheri Curtis, manager of palliative care, who demonstrates “fostering personal and professional development, accountability, innovation, teamwork, and commitment to quality,” Schmidt said.

Sylvia Vallejo DeLeon was recognized with a Justice Award for advocating for systems and structures that are attuned to the needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged and that promote a sense of community, Schmidt said.

The Hospitality Award was presented to Gloria Quinones, the front office assistant at St. Mary’s Healthy Beginnings Clinic.

“It was so exciting to see the support for St. Mary through the donations from doctors, community leaders, businesses and even past patients, from near and far, who understand and see the importance of this great hospital,” Schmidt said. “The mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, of generous courage and self-emptying love, in joyful service to the dear neighbor without distinction, was plainly evident in those who supported the gala and its fundraising effort.”