A Gift of a Lifetime

When Kay and Bob Radford first came to Los Angeles with their two children in 1984, Kay began settling into their new community by getting to know their local hospital, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. She couldn’t have known how placing a simple phone call would change her life.

“I called the hospital and had a 10-minute conversation with a nurse in the ED,” she says. “And I thought to myself, that’s something. Who spends that kind of time talking to a stranger?”

It was her first indication of how special Providence Holy Cross Medical Center really is. Intrigued by the experience, she began volunteering at the hospital information desk one day a week, providing room information and directions to patients and visitors. That led to her joining The Holy Cross Guild in 1991, and eventually to filling a variety of roles over the years, including multiple terms as guild president and service on the Foundation Board. She has made lifelong friends through her association with Providence Holy Cross and the Guild.

Her most notable achievement may be helping to start the Emergency Department (ED) Volunteer Program in 2000, which interfaces volunteers with ED doctors and nurses so they can perform more complex tasks like triage. The program has grown to include more than 50 volunteers serving over 10,000 donated hours per year, and Kay still oversees scheduling, orientation and training of volunteers. Since its inception, 554 volunteers have donated thousands of hours to assist ED patients and staff. “The program is an extraordinary experience for young people interested in a career in medicine,” says Kay.

The program was such a success that Kay was invited to speak about it at conferences throughout Southern California.

Kay also serves as a member of the Biomedical Ethics Committee, the Surrogate Committee and the Emergency Department Care Experience Council at Providence Holy Cross. She has been president of TriValley Area Council of Hospital Volunteers and a member of the Committee on Volunteers for the California Association of Hospitals & Health Systems.

“The longer you volunteer, the more you see the need for philanthropy,” she explains.

A member of the Foundation Board of Governors since 2012, Kay is motivated to serve by her desire to financially support Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in its mission to care for all members of our community, including the poor and vulnerable. She sees her role on the board as a natural extension of her long record of service.

Seeing that need is what led Kay and her husband Bob to recently endow an investment fund to benefit Providence Holy Cross Foundation.

The Radfords established an investment account and designated the Foundation as the beneficiary. The fund’s proceeds will support the cause to which Kay has dedicated over 30 years of her life.

Kay is proud to be able to support the hospital’s mission because she knows from experience how unique Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is. “The culture and community are extraordinary,” she says, “And a great culture helps deliver great care.”

Donors can also add the Foundation as a beneficiary on an existing account, such as a retirement account. It’s free and easy, and it will help ensure that the hospital can continue serving our community for years to come.

“This was such an easy way to give to Providence Holy Cross,” Kay explains.

To learn more about creating a fund to benefit Providence Holy Cross Foundation, please contact Joe Ward, executive director of planned giving, at Joseph.Ward@providence.org or 310-793-8117