Redlands Community Hospital Foundation Uses Grant From Walt Disney Company Foundation to Purchase New Patient Shuttle

Thanks to the nomination of a Redlands Community Hospital volunteer, the Redlands Community Hospital Foundation has purchased a shuttle for patient and visitor transportation through a grant received from the Walt Disney Company Foundation. Redlands Community Hospital uses shuttles to transport visitors and patients from its large parking lot to various facilities. This service benefits many of the hospital’s visitors, including Joe Pompa, a part-time firefighter at Disneyland who nominated the hospital for the Walt Disney Company Foundation grant. “The shuttle service greatly benefitted my family when we visited my 83-year-old father in hospital for a month,” said Pompa, a volunteer shuttle driver at Redlands Community Hospital. “The experience pushed me to volunteer at the hospital and I’ve been doing it for three years now. I realized how much it helped my elderly mother get from her car to the front doors of the hospital, and I knew that it was something that benefitted a lot of other patients and visitors as well.” Pompa’s daughter has volunteered in the hospital’s labor and delivery department for four years, which initially sparked Pompa’s interest in volunteer work at the hospital. "The donation we received thanks to Mr. Pompa's nomination will allow us to continue helping our patients and visitors for years to come," said James R. Holmes, president and CEO of Redlands Community Hospital. "Volunteers play a major role in our accomplishments over the years and they are a valued asset to our hospital. We can't thank them enough for their hard work and dedication in helping make our hospital a safe, happy and healthy place in our community." Founded in 1980, the Redlands Community Hospital Foundation was created to raise funds to contribute to the hospital for special projects that directly impact the quality of care for hospital patients. Volunteers play a vital role in many areas including: transportation, admitting, the gift shop, nursing units, pharmacy, information desks, emergency services, outpatient service areas, clerical areas and even lend a hand in fundraising through quilting and sewing. To nominate organizations for a grant through the Walt Disney Company Foundation, a person must donate at least $50 to the organization, entering it into consideration for a monetary grant. In the past, Pompa has also nominated fellow firefighters and Inland Harvest, a Redlands food bank organization, for a grant through the Walt Disney Company Foundation.