Winter 2024 IVCH Foundation News

As winter blankets our beautiful Incline Village community in snow and brings the excitement of skiing and outdoor adventures, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to call this special place home. Amid the hustle and bustle of the season, your generosity shines brightly, ensuring that high-quality healthcare is available right here when you and your loved ones need it most. Incline Village Community Hospital is here to provide the care our community relies on.

In this edition, we share the incredible success of the 75th Anniversary Celebration event for Tahoe Forest Health System. As you continue to scroll down, you’ll read about the important changes to our IVCH registration window and get to know one of the smiling faces in the Registration Department. We celebrate the incredible award the IVCH Emergency Department has once again received and discuss ways you can give back this holiday season. Lastly, we share heartwarming comments from the community and what our Center for Health is offering this community to encourage healthy living.

With the holidays just around the corner, we reflect on the countless reasons we have to be grateful this year. Your unwavering support of the Incline Village Community Hospital Foundation has helped us achieve incredible milestones, strengthening our ability to service our patients and neighbors. Together, we are building a healthier, more resilient community – one that we can be proud of. Thank you for being part of this journey and for making this holiday season even more meaningful. We truly are looking forward to all that we can accomplish together in the coming years.

Season’s Greetings to you and your loved ones.

With gratitude,

Karli Epstein
Executive Director

On November 1st, we gathered at the North Tahoe Event Center to commemorate 75 incredible years of delivering exceptional healthcare to the Tahoe Truckee community. The evening was nothing short of magical, as guests indulged in an unforgettable night of Northern California wine and food expertly crafted by some of the best chefs from around the lake.

The sold-out 75th Anniversary Celebration was a true testament to the strength and generosity of our community. Thanks to your support, the Tahoe Forest Health System Foundation raised nearly $200,000 to benefit the Area of Greatest Need Fund, ensuring that we can continue to meet the evolving healthcare needs of our region. We are so grateful to everyone who attended, our dedicated staff, and this amazing community for making this milestone event such a resounding success.

Here’s to the next 75 years of making a difference together!

With the help and support of the Facilities team, the IVCH Registration Department will have a brand new patient registration window in the Incline Village Community Hospital lobby. This additional registration window will be dedicated to registering our Emergency Room patients during our busy times and ensure they receive necessary care promptly. We recognize that due to the increase of services at IVCH, the registration area can become busy.

Our staff at Incline Village Community Hospital love getting to know their patients but here’s an opportunity to get to know the staff! This quarter, we are thrilled to spotlight Ana Jimenez, Patient Access Rep Lead. Ana has welcomed patients with a smile for 10 years at Tahoe Forest Health System and comes with 6 years of experience prior.

Her director, Kat Sigafoose, said, “Ana does an amazing job of exemplifying and living the values of our district each day. Ana is an amazing role model to everyone she works with and works with high standards, exceptional customer service, and pays close attention to details. Ana is frequently praised in Press Ganey about how she is helpful, friendly, efficient, professional, and caring. It has also been noted from patients that she will always go above and beyond. Those who work closest to her have recognized that she is the backbone of Incline and the glue that holds the hospital together, she is always kind and honestly cares about others, she leads by example, she is loved and respected member of the community and district, her presence is missed when she is not there, and they are not only honored to work with her but to call her a friend too. Ana has become a pillar at Incline Village Community Hospital and we are so very proud to have her as a part of our team.”

When Ana isn’t hard at work, she loves spending quality time with her children exploring the outdoors and taking in new sights. Her family is a lively bunch, with her youngest just 3 years old, two in school, and one thriving in college. Recently, they welcomed an adorable German Shepherd mix puppy into their home, adopted from the local pet network. Sushi nights out with her family are a special treat for Ana, as it’s her absolute favorite food. Looking to the future, Ana dreams of strolling the cobblestone streets of Santorini, Greece, soaking in its iconic views and unforgettable charm.

We are so lucky to have Ana on our team at Incline Village Community Hospital and we hope you enjoyed getting to know her more!

The IVCH Emergency Department (ED) once again received the Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence award, marking yet another year of delivering outstanding care and consistently high patient satisfaction. This distinguished honor is reserved for healthcare organizations that rank in the 95th percentile or above for patient experience across the entire calendar year.

“This award underscores our deep commitment to both our team and the communities we care for,” said Louis Ward, the Interim CEO of Tahoe Forest Health System. “We are proud to receive this recognition that highlights our unwavering focus to setting ever-higher standards for exceptional care and service to the Truckee and North Tahoe community.”

Press Ganey works with more than 41,000 healthcare facilities in its mission to reduce patient suffering and enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality and experience of care.

The Center for Health at Incline Village is expanding its programming, now regularly offering a wide variety of classes and services to support your health and wellness. From fitness sessions to educational workshops, there’s something for everyone. Explore these amazing offerings and find a program that fits your needs by visiting our events page.

Upcoming Free Community Talk: Advanced Care Planning for Healthcare Decisions

Mark your calendars for March 6th, 12:30 – 1:30 PM, and join us at Incline Village Community Hospital for an engaging discussion on understanding advance directives, POLST forms and their importance, assigning durable powers of attorney and ensuring your end-of-life wishes are honored led by Dr. Johanna Koch. Dr. Koch is currently the medical director for the Palliative Care Team and actively participates in overseeing patients’ care while they are receiving palliative care services. This talk is free to attend, with a virtual option available. To register, call (530) 587-3769 or go to www.tfhd.com/wellness to sign up online.

You should have received our IVCH Foundation Annual Appeal in the mail. It is our goal, year over year, to continue building awareness focused on our mission of providing the best rural healthcare in the nation. By forging valued relationships with our community members, it is our hope to share more about the remarkable IVCH healthcare resources, available right here in our region!

If you would like to help ensure access to local healthcare continues to be available for you and your loved ones, please look for your IVCH Foundation Annual Appeal in your inboxes and mailboxes this month or donate here.

We know that during a health crisis, minutes matter. Thank you in advance for helping us safeguard our patient care services by giving a gift in support of IVCH!

As we approach the end of the year, there are a variety of ways for you to support Incline Village Community Hospital, and every gift has a meaningful impact on the well-being of our Incline Village community. 100% of your gift goes directly toward projects and programs at the Hospital that YOU care about. If you are interested in giving to the Foundation today, below are some of the ways in which you can do so:

• Gifts of cash: Gifts of cash, by check or credit card, are the most direct way to give to IVCHF. As a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, your gift is tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
• Gifts of securities: Stock that has increased in value is one of the most popular assets used for charitable giving, once it has been held for a minimum of a year. Donating appreciated securities is a simple gift and can offer you a greater tax benefit than an equivalent in cash. Using appreciated securities entitles you to a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the donated asset, and you avoid paying the capital gains tax you would pay if you sold the appreciated securities.
• Gifts from a retirement plan: If you are required to take a minimum distribution from a retirement account, a Qualified Charitable Distribution can be made from an IRA at the IVCH Foundation. This will allow you to lower your gross income and possibly reduce your income or estate tax by transferring the additional taxable income to IVCHF.
• Gifts from a donor advised fund: A donor advised fund is like a charitable investment account and you are generally eligible to take an immediate tax deduction when you contribute assets to one. You can recommend grants to IVCH from this type of tax-free investment fund.
• Gifts from a matching gift program: Double your donation to IVCH Foundation. Many employers sponsor matching gift programs that will match any charitable contribution made by their employees. Often, the match ratio is 1:1, so by taking advantage of such a program, you can effectively double the impact of your gift.

You can always reach out to the Incline Village Community Hospital Foundation by emailing [email protected] or calling (775) 888-4204.

We are always proud to share the positive recognition we receive for the way we care for our Emergency Room, Lakeside Family Medicine, and Incline Health Center patients:

“My ER visit was incredibly professional, efficient and thorough. Everyone, the reg clerk, my RN, the rad tech and the Dr. was amazing!! I appreciate everyone’s care, thank you all!!”

“We are blessed to have these quality facilities and these wonderful professionals in our community!”

“This is a token of the enormous appreciation I have for all the great care you afforded me over the past 6 weeks. It’s never fun when your health is compromised, but all of you helped lift my mood, challenged my intellect, and kept me grounded. Thanks to all of you from both me and my wife, Barbara, and the rest of my family (I let everyone know how great you’ve taken care of me). Enjoy the Holiday Season, take care of yourselves as well as you did me, and keep up the good work – we’re all lucky to have you working here in Incline.”

Thank you for your interest in our community Hospital! Visit the IVCH Foundation to learn more about the different ways you can support IVCH through philanthropy, or contact Karli Epstein, Executive Director, at 775-888-4204 or [email protected]