Santa Barbara Foundation Awards
$21,000 Grant to Cottage

December 9, 2005

The Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation has received a $21,000 grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation's Tri-Counties Blood Bank Fund for care provided to indigent patients in 2004. The funds will cover the direct costs of blood products used by Cottage in 2004 for seven indigent patients who met the criteria for Cottage's Community Service Program. The program provides medical assistance to individuals in financial need, either free of charge or on a sliding pay scale.

The Santa Barbara Foundation established the Tri-Counties Blood Bank Fund to provide grants and scholarship for activities that support blood and blood-related products and services.

"Grants such as this one from the Santa Barbara Foundation are extremely helpful in Cottage's ability to provide care to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay," said Ron Werft, president and chief executive officer for Cottage Health System. "Creating and maintaining healthier communities is a common goal for both our organizations."

The not-for-profit Cottage Health System, the parent organization of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and its associated Cottage Children's Hospital, Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, is guided by a volunteer board of directors from the greater Santa Barbara community. Last year, the hospitals provided inpatient care for 21,000 people, treated 62,000 patients through their 24-hour emergency departments and helped deliver 2,900 newborns. With a staff of more than 2,500, Cottage is the largest private employer in Santa Barbara County.

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