Letter from IVCH Foundation Leadership

Greetings Incline Village Community,

As we witness the unfolding of a health pandemic, with overwhelming rippling effects, it continues to be nothing but a privilege to steward the well-being of our local hospital. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude for the recent contributions to IVCH. In the past two months, big hearted supporters have contributed more than $565,000 to the IVCHF COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and have donated countless meals and PPE supplies for our staff. This outpouring of support has not only ensured that the hospital is equipped to confront the virus and provide safe care for patients, but it has also buoyed the morale of staff by showing immense amounts of gratitude for their front-line service. In a time of stress and sadness, our spirits have been raised greatly by these expressions of love from our local community. 

One incredible gift in particular came from The Dave and Cheryl Duffield Foundation in the amount of $350,000. This charitable contribution dramatically increased Incline Village Community Hospital’s and Tahoe Forest Health System’s abilities to address the community’s needs during the pandemic. The wide-ranging grant funded the procurement of ventilators, a mobile CT unit, personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff, the creation of the IVCH COVID-19 Drive-By Clinic, the expansion of telehealth services at Incline Health Center, and emergency staffing to keep IVCH operational. Jerleen Bryant, Executive Director for the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation expressed that “the Duffields want to do everything they can to ensure that we emerge from this crisis stronger and more unified than ever before,” and judging by the overall show of support, so do many, many other people.

Although the pandemic is at the forefront of our tackle list, we have not forgotten our other priorities. Following expert guidance, the health system has begun a cautious re-opening, and for IVCH this means carefully increasing the number of in-person patient appointments at Incline Health Center and resuming elective surgeries. Prior to the virus’s strike, we were endeavoring to raise funds to upgrade the sterile processing machines that are used on a weekly basis following the surgical procedures performed at IVCH. New state-of-the-art sterile processing equipment is the first step in a bigger plan to expand surgical procedures offered at IVCH. Nearly $575,000 has already been raised and earmarked for this plan, so we truly hope to continue our quest to raise a total of $1.5 million for this project.

Unfortunately, our gatherings that we had scheduled for this summer and fall will likely not be able to take place as originally planned. While we would love to see many of you in person to share hospital updates, introduce new physicians, and express our gratitude, we know that this is not the prudent choice. We are currently working on a plan to create safe and effective engagement opportunities, so stay tuned!

We hope that you share our feeling of pride for Incline Village Community Hospital. Now more than ever we’re looking forward to continuing to work towards our mission to assist the hospital in providing exceptional healthcare services to our local community. Our saying, “Your Community, Your Hospital” has never rung more true than recently. Thank you for showing so much compassion for our facility and caregivers; we are forever grateful.  

Best Wishes and With Much Gratitude,

Karli Epstein, Executive Director IVCHF
Jonathan Smith, Donor Relations Chair IVCHF