St. John's Giving Stories
Generous donor support provides the opportunity for St. John's Hospitals to make an important difference in the lives of so many people in our community. Donor support has provided state-of-the-art technology, advancements in facilities, created community health education opportunies, and provided free health care to those in need, among many others.
Learn more about some of our donors and their stories below.
Community Members
Attorney Laura McAvoy and IT consultant Sol Chooljian have created a legacy of public service to our community over the course of the last 50 years. The longtime Camarillo residents are selfless advocates for community-based not-for-profits and have freely shared their time, considerable talents, and treasure with organizations in the areas of education, youth services, sports, and health care. Read their story >
Dr. Lee Wan and his practice team have worked to improve and protect the vision and the eyes for generations of people in Ventura County and abroad. For more than 30 years, the Oxnard ophthalmologist has provided medical and surgical eye care to local residents, leading the team at Coastal Eye Specialists, and has given to the community through a variety of roles at St. John’s Hospitals and in the local medical community. In addition, he has led several medical missions to provide eye care to underserved patient populations and to train the next generation of eye surgeons in Southeast Asia. Read his story >
For more than 15 years, patients, visitors, and staff of St. John’s Hospital Camarillo have found a refuge of tranquility, meditation, and renewal in the Donahue Healing Garden. The creation of the garden was made possible by a generous donation from Ann Donahue in honor of her late husband Joseph Donahue in appreciation of the compassionate care he had received at the hospital. Read their story >
In his professional and personal life, Greg Glover seeks to help people fulfill their dreams and improve the quality of life in Ventura County. As First Vice President and Business Center Manager at California Bank & Trust in Oxnard, he provides a wide range of personal and commercial banking services to the community. As a board member and volunteer of several local non-profit organizations, he devotes his time, talent, and treasure to advance access to homeownership, business opportunities, and health care. Read his story >
Philanthropy came natural to Katherine Edsall Wells, Board Chair of St. John’s Healthcare Foundation. As a child growing up in Camarillo, she learned by example from her civic-minded parents how important it is to give back to their community. Today, Katherine is passing on the philanthropic values she inherited to her own children and to members of our community through her estate planning law practice and her commitment to St. John’s. Read her story >
Lisa and Jerry Zins have been instrumental in raising support for St. John’s for the past eighteen years. They are grateful for the compassionate high quality health care services that enhance the well-being in body, mind and spirit of our patients. Read their story >
Since first experiencing St. John’s signature touch of humankindness more than 30 years ago, Harriet Friedman and her late husband Harold have been paying it forward through volunteering, giving, and advocacy for St. John’s. Read their story >
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Hospital Employees
One of St. John's long-time employee giving supporters is Ruth Kistler, Supervisor of Therapy Services at St. John’s Hospital Camarillo. Ruth donates to help those in need, who are less fortunate, and have less resources. Read her story >
One of St. John's long-time employee giving supporters is Lori Christensen, RN, an Administrative House Supervisor at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. Lori initially became an employee donor to support the creation of the new hospital in Camarillo. Read her story >
One of St. John's long-time employee giving supporters is Belinda Valdez, RN, a Clinical Education Coordinator at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. Belinda started participating in employee giving in appreciation of the opportunities that St. John’s has given her throughout the years. Read her story >
One of St. John's long-time employee giving supporters is Tracey Estrada, RN, the Nurse Manager of the Labor & Delivery Department and the Mother Infant Unit at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. Tracey believes that St. John's employee donors are making a difference in the lives of the people that they touch through their donations. Read her story >
One of St. John's long-time employee giving supporters is Wendy Fontanilla, RN, a clinical nurse in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at St. John’s Hospital Camarillo. A quote by Helen Keller, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much," inspired Wendy to give. Read her story >
One of St. John's long-time employee giving supporters is Kim Spencer, Senior Director of Imaging, Cardiovascular, and Oncology at St. John’s Hospitals. Raised in a family of nurses, she knew at a young age that wanted to pursue a career in health care and became an X-ray technologist. Kim felt immediately connected to St. John’s when she saw the power of humankindness and the spiritual direction provided by Sr. Corita Burnham, Sr. Suzanne Krawczyk, and Sr. Suzanne Soppe – the three Sisters of Mercy who worked at the hospitals at the time. Read her story >
More than 100 generous employees of St. John’s Hospitals participated in St. John’s Healthcare Foundation’s 2021 Employee Giving Campaign “Taking Care of Each Other.” One of our first-time donors is Kristin Vigliotta, a Registered Nurse in the Labor and Delivery Department (L&D) at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. She has deep personal connections to the L&D. Read her story >
More than 100 generous employees of St. John’s Hospitals participated in St. John’s Healthcare Foundation’s 2021 Employee Giving Campaign “Taking Care of Each Other.” One of our first-time donors is Anthony Innabi, a Respiratory Therapist at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, who felt a sudden calling to give to the spiritual care fund after walking by the Foundation’s Employee Giving Campaign information desk in the hospital cafeteria. Read his story >
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