Donors Raise $2.6 Million for Sutter’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Women’s Health Services in the East Bay
by Kathy Engle, Vitals contributor
On a beautiful fall day in the East Bay Hills, hundreds of community members joined staff, clinicians and supporters of Sutter’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation to raise money for the expansion of vital services for women and infants across the East Bay. Guests were immersed in “An Afternoon in Paris” event at the Claremont Resort and Club, featuring an on-stage conversation between culinary icon Alice Waters and Sutter Health’s Chief Philanthropy Officer, Raya Elias-Petros.
The luncheon opened with Sutter Health leaders sharing the vision for a $1 billion multipart expansion project that will ensure that patients can reach comprehensive care within their community, while also underscoring the vital role philanthropy plays in advancing care for women and infants.
Inspiring Generosity and Saving Lives
Paris Sweeney Austin and daughter Seiori make a surprise appearance at fundraising event for the NICU at Sutter’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley.
Generous gifts from donors continue to help the NICU at Alta Bates Summit’s Ashby campus support the tiniest patients, one of whom surprised guests with an appearance at the luncheon. Baby Seiori was born at the very edge of viability at only 23 weeks and two days and spent 183 days in the NICU. Now nearly two years old and thriving, she delighted guests with a wave and a smile.
Alice Waters felt a deep connection with the event saying, “I’m about to cry, I’m just so honored to be here to see the incredible work of the place where I had my own daughter.”
Funds raised at the luncheon will help bring larger neonatal suites for families and their babies to the Ashby campus while a new medical center in Emeryville is built. Patients will see an expansion of vital integrative services to pre and postnatal moms and families. Gifts will also help continue the excellence at the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Program to provide the most advanced breast health care at local clinics and through a mobile mammography vehicle which brings breast cancer screening directly to women in underserved communities.
“Donor support accelerates Sutter’s ability to close critical gaps and invest in services that would otherwise take years to realize,” said Genea Wilson, CEO of ambulatory care at Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation. “We are so thankful for events like this because every gift enables us to advance clinical innovation and meet the evolving needs of our communities with compassion and excellence.”
Transformative Impact for Women’s and Children’s Health
Sutter’s East Bay expansion plans prioritize women’s and children’s health along with mental healthcare, cancer care and other vital but historically underserved areas. The collective spirit at this luncheon was more than symbolic—it’s a driving force behind the expansion of care for those who need it most.
“Every person who attended or supported this luncheon is helping us build a healthier future for women and families by ensuring critical services are available for those who need them most,” said Maureen Smith, director of philanthropy for the East Bay.
The event also presented Philanthropy Leadership Awards recognizing individuals whose partnership and dedication have impacted the future of care at Alta Bates Summit. The inaugural recipient was Peter Read, benefactor behind the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Program and the mobile mammography vehicle.
“Giving is like therapy for me, I get so much satisfaction helping others,” Peter reflected before this year’s award winners were announced. “You can be enslaved to material things you don’t need. I want to surround myself with people I care about and who care back.”
Philanthropy Leadership Award winners Sharyn Bires and Alison Brooks
This year’s Philanthropy Leadership award winners were Alison Brooks and Sharyn Bires. Brooks recently retired after 27 years as a clinical nurse specialist in the Alta Bates Summit NICU and leader of the hospital’s NICU Family Advisory Committee. Bires is an active member of the NICU Family Advisory Committee, which she joined after spending months in the care of the entire team in the Alta Bates Summit NICU, after giving birth to a daughter at 29 weeks. She considers the team family. Both award winners have seen the impact that philanthropic gifts have made on the level of care in the NICU and beyond—helping to build a healthier future for women and families across the East Bay.
Join community members in supporting care for women and infants in the East Bay or contact Maureen Smith at maureen.smith@sutterhealth.org.
