​SANTA MONICA, CA – The Irene Dunne Guild co-hosts the 2015 Caritas Gala in partnership with the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation board of trustees, Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills. The black-tie event will honor Wendy Goldstein, executive vice president and head of urban A&R at Republic Records; civic leader Raylene Meyer and husband Bruce Meyer, president, Meyer Pacific; and philanthropist Merle Mullin and husband Peter Mullin, co-founder and chairman of the board of M Financial Holdings and chairman of Mullin │ Barens │ Sanford Financial. 
 
“This year’s honorees have not only excelled in their professional arenas, but each made a commitment early on to embrace the spirit of philanthropy and continue to live by that tenet,” said Robert O. Klein, president and CEO, Saint John’s Health Center Foundation. “It would be impossible to enumerate all they have given back to our community, but it is safe to say that each represents the dedication and commitment that embody the philosophy of Providence Saint John’s.”
 
“I share in congratulating these five extraordinary individuals,” said Kate Prudente, president of the Irene Dunne Guild. “Their myriad contributions toward the betterment of so many lives, past, present and future are emblematic of the goals of our organization.”
 
Wendy Goldstein, executive vice president and head of urban A&R at Republic Records will be honored with the 2015 Caritas Award. Goldstein’s focus has cultivated and bolstered the label’s presence within the urban realm. In 2013, she collaborated with Ariana Grande on the conception and release of her full-length debut, Yours Truly, which debuted #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and yielded the #1 double-platinum smash, The Way. Under her tenure, Republic Records signed Bay Area hip-hop sensation Sage the Gemini, soul crooner Adrian Marcel and super producer DJ Mustard. In addition, she handled artist & repertoire duties for Enrique Iglesias, Mika and Colbie Caillat among others. A division of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company, Republic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists including Ariana Grande, Black Sabbath, Florence + the Machine, Godsmack, Gotye, James Blake, Of Monsters and Men, Owl City, The Weeknd and Hailee Steinfeld.
 
The Spirit of Saint John’s Award will be presented to Foundation trustee Bruce Meyer and his wife Raylene for their inspirational service to Providence Saint John’s Health Center and its mission. Bruce Meyer is president and founder of the family real estate investment company, Meyer Pacific, Inc. Bruce Meyer presided over the Beverly Hills landmark retailer GEARYS for 35 years which remains in the family and is run by his nephew, Tom Blumenthal. Bruce is a long-time collector of vintage automobiles, historic race cars, and motorcycles and is actively involved in the Petersen Automotive Museum where he served as the first chairman of the board and still remains on its board today. He is a past president of the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation.
 
Raylene Meyer shares in her husband’s passion for family, philanthropy and automobiles.  Active with the Los Angeles Music Center, she is a member of the Blue Ribbon and chairs the organization’s 2016 Children’s Festival as well as past president and a current member of the Symphonians. A member of the Junior League of Los Angeles, Raylene has also served on the board of The Costume Council of the Los Angeles County Art Museum and is a member of the board of The Diadames of the Child Care League.  A long-time supporter of Children’s Hospital, she has served on the boards of their affiliate groups, Las Madrinas and Children’s Chain.
 
Peter Mullin and wife Merle will be honored with the Spirit of Saint John’s Award. Peter Mullin is co-founder and chairman of the board of M Financial Holdings Incorporated and chairman of Mullin │ Barens │ Sanford Financial, an independent executive benefits and solutions provider and member of M Financial Group. He serves on the board of the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, the Art Center College of Design, Guggenheim Foundation Advisory Board and Occidental College. He is also chairman of the Peter Mullin Automotive Museum Foundation, chairman of the Peterson Automotive Museum and president of the American Bugatti Club.
 
Merle Mullin holds several board positions including the National Trust of Italy (FAI), the Blue Ribbon of the Music Center of Los Angeles, Diadames, and the Board of Visitors, UC Davis School of Viticulture and Enology. She is a fellow of the Huntington Gardens and Library and director of the Mullin Automotive Museum. The Mullins are proprietors of Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma, where they produce outstanding, highly rated pinot noir, syrah, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.
 
The Caritas Gala is co-hosted each year by the Irene Dunne Guild in partnership with the Saint John’s Foundation board of trustees to honor individuals who exemplify dedication and commitment to the community and embody the philosophy and mission of Providence Saint John’s. Net proceeds from the gala benefit vital programs and services at the Health Center. Since 1987, the guild has raised more than $11 million and has supported Providence Saint John’s through a wide variety of innovative philanthropic, educational and volunteer programs and services. The guild was named for the late actress Irene Dunne, considered the “First Lady” of Providence Saint John’s.
 
Past Caritas Gala honorees include Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, Martin Sheen, Vin Scully, Robert Wagner, Angela Lansbury, Pierce Brosnan, Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards, Chris O’Donnell, David and Yolanda Foster, Tonian Hohberg, and Jimmy Stewart.
 
Individual tickets to the Oct. 24 Caritas Gala are $500 and sponsorship packages are available. For more information, please contact Tess Csiszar at Saint John’s Health Center Foundation at 310-829-8168 or email at Tess.Csiszar@stjohns.org.
 
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Contact:
 
Pam Giangregorio                                         
Katy Sweet & Associates Public Relations
(310) 479-2333 / Pam@KatySweetPR.com              

The specimen repository is one of the treasures of the John Wayne Cancer Institute. The repository is a bank of frozen specimens from cancer patients established by Institute co-founder Donald L. Morton, MD, and collected since 1971. The specimens are linked to a database containing records for more than 14,600 patients.

The repository is a gateway to the world of personalized cancer care—treatments based on each individual’s unique genetic and biochemical makeup. Thanks to a generous gift from the Irene Dunne Guild, the Institute will soon purchase a new, state-of-the-art, subzero storage unit for the continued collection of specimens, carrying on the vision of Dr. Morton.

“The guild voted unanimously to donate toward the specimen repository,” says Dolly Niemann, chair of the Irene Dunne Guild resource allocation committee. “We are excited to see the synergy between the Health Center and the Institute, and we want to support the continued success of the researchers at the Institute.”


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All sales proceeds benefit the Irene Dunne Guild Patron Drive Fund which funds vital programs and equipment at Providence Saint John's Health Center.

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Please click here for direct access to the article 'Think Pink Luncheon Focused on Women's Health' reported by Jacqueline Primo of the Palisades Post.

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - The Irene Dunne Guild hosted their 10th Anniversary Think Pink for Women's Wellness event at the Bel Air Bay Club with a sold out crowd.  The event featured morning educational sessions on various health topics and a keynote address presented by notable speakers:

(Keynote) Assessing and Addressing the Gender Gap in Women's Health Care - Chloe Bird, PhD
Legacy of Great Parenting - Robin Berman, MD
Happy Heart, Healthy Heart - Nicole Weinberg, MD, FACC
Skin & The Immune System - Delphine Lee, MD, PhD, FAAD
Bone & Joint Health - Timothy Davis, MD

There was also an extensive shopping boutique with a large selection offered. A portion of all boutique proceeds benefits the Guild's Patron Drive Fund, used to support programs and equipment in departments throughout Saint John's Health Center. To date, the Guild has raised over $900,000 with their annual Patron Drive Fund for the benefit of Saint John's.

Saint John’s Health Center has been with Mary Flaherty through the best of times and the worst of times. The best times were when two of her three children were born at the Health Center: Mary Catherine in 1986 and Maureen in 1992.

The first of the worst times came in between those births when Flaherty was treated for breast cancer after being diagnosed in 1989 at age 32. Twelve years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer again and was treated at Saint John’s.

“That’s how I got involved in women’s health,” says Flaherty, a Foundation trustee and longtime Health Center supporter. “I feel you have to make lemonade out of lemons. Some good had to come out of it.”

Flaherty is grateful that the second cancer was a new primary cancer, not a spread of the original, which is a more challenging prognosis. She now mentors women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, focusing on education, prevention and encouragement.

"Saint John’s is special to our family. There is a spiritual aspect to Saint John’s, an emotional, social and psychological aspect to treatment that you don’t get elsewhere. That gives patients an extra advantage when it comes to healing.” – Mary Flaherty 

However, her dedication to the Health Center predates her personal experiences. You might say Saint John’s is a family tradition. Her father, Jim Hesburgh, is a trustee emeritus and former chair of the Foundation. Nearly 30 years ago, Flaherty, her mother, Mary, and Sister Marie Madeleine Shonka, SCL, met with Saint John’s benefactor, actress Irene Dunne.

“I was one of the founding members of the Irene Dunne Guild and was president when it was newly formed,” Flaherty says. She led the guild in 1989–1991 and 1994–1995.

The guild was just the beginning. Flaherty joined the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation board in 2003 and remains a trustee today. She also joined the Health Center board of directors in 2007 and chaired the board in 2011–2012.

“I really loved serving on the hospital board,” Flaherty says. “The board was able to accomplish many great things, and it was an amazing group of directors. It was a cohesive group of people who worked well together and had a commitment that is seldom found at other health care institutions.”

Most recently Flaherty was benefit committee chair for Power of Pink 2014: An Acoustic Evening with P!NK and Friends, held on October 23. Proceeds benefited cancer prevention programs at the Margie Petersen Breast Center.

Flaherty also serves on the board and is incoming chair of the Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Los Angeles. She had acupuncture during chemotherapy in her second battle with breast cancer. “I see a merging of Eastern and Western medicine throughout health care,” she says.

When she’s not busy with assorted boards and committees in her Westside community, Flaherty loves to travel and spend time with her far-flung family: a son and daughter in Illinois, a daughter in Texas and parents in Indiana. At home, she and her husband Jay have three dogs.

“I joke we replaced every child with a dog when the child left home,” she said. They now have two German shepherds and a golden mix. Two dogs are rescues.

During her time on the Foundation and Health Center boards, she has served on a multitude of committees including women’s health, board affairs, governance, strategic, finance, audit and quality control, to name a few.

“I feel like I earned a master’s or PhD in health care through my experience on these committees,” Flaherty jokes. “I’ve also made a lot of really wonderful friends through various committees. Saint John’s is special to our family. There is a spiritual aspect to Saint John’s, an emotional, social and psychological aspect to treatment that you don’t get elsewhere. That gives patients an extra advantage when it comes to healing.” And Flaherty understands healing very well.

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The Irene Dunne Guild recently announced a donation in excess of $100,000 to Saint John’s Health Center that is being used to help fund the Safe Patient Handling & Mobility Program. The gift enables the purchase of equipment to help lift, position and move patients. Safe patient handling is a term that refers to policies and programs that use technology and techniques to allow caregivers to safely lift and move patients without causing injury or unnecessary physical stress.

“We chose to fund this gift because the program strongly supports patients and caregivers at the same time,” says Kate Prudente, president of the Irene Dunne Guild. “This is specialized equipment that enhances the delivery of compassionate care in a manner that is safer for hospital staff and caregivers.

Among nurses, back injuries are the most common type of work-related accidents, Prudente notes. When used correctly, the new devices will help minimize the risk of injuries to caregivers.

Likewise, patients benefit from being moved in a manner most conducive to their safety and comfort. Safe patient handling has become a prominent issue in acute health care settings, she says, with legislation pending in some states to mandate more of these types of programs.

The guild’s gift is part of a larger patient handling and safety strategy at Saint John’s that will include in-depth staff training and support and a specialized lift team, Prudente says.

“The feedback I hear is that the nurses love the equipment, and the benefits for the patients are substantial,” she says. “The lift team is also very impressed with how easily they can move patients and assist all the nursing units in a more timely manner. This is an important program, and the guild is pleased and proud that we were able to help augment it at the Health Center.”

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