Bob and Debbie Wacker have long recognized the value that a hometown hospital brings to the community. And over the years, they have supported the hospital through both donations and volunteering.
So when French Hospital Medical Center’s CEO and President, Alan Iftiniuk, asked Bob Wacker, CFP®, to co-chair the Beyond Health fundraising campaign cabinet, he readily agreed.
He and Debbie also stepped up with a $350,000 gift of their own. Members of the community will now enter the Wacker Family Auditorium when attending events at the hospital’s education pavilion.
Now Bob—the founder, Chairman, and Chief Investment Officer of SLO-based Wacker Wealth Partners—is enlisting the support of the community to make the campaign a success.
“We’re great on culture and great on physicians,” Bob said. “But we need some work with the facility.”
The $130 million campus expansion project will include a four-story Patient Care Tower that doubles the hospital’s bed capacity. It will also allow for something that Bob said is much needed: single rooms.
The Patient Care Tower will include 56 private rooms. Bob said that private rooms are essential in today’s climate of HIPAA rules, because shared rooms offer little privacy. He added that since so many medical needs are offered on an outpatient basis nowadays, the people who need inpatient care are sicker than they used to be.
“Clinical outcomes are much better with private rooms,” he said.
Altogether, the campaign will help create:
- 56 new private patient rooms, bringing the total licensed bed count to 180, making French the largest hospital in San Luis Obispo County
- A 16-bed neonatal intensive care unit (ICU)
- An additional 10 ICU beds, bringing the total to 21
- New front entrance, lobby, and dining area
- A rooftop garden terrace, providing space for sensory stimulation, socializing, and outdoor activities
- Expanded space for imaging, labs, materials management, food preparation, and more
- Enhanced and advanced technology
- Helistop helicopter landing pad for critical emergencies
- Non-denominational chapel
- New parking structure with 243 spaces
Bob indicated he is personally committed to the role of co-chair, a responsibility he shares with Ke-Ping Tsao, MD. Not only has Debbie volunteered at the not-for-profit hospital for 32 years, but both Bob and his loved ones have received care there.
He knows firsthand the “culture of care and collaboration” that the hospital’s physicians, nurses, and staff live by. And he wants to help make sure that county residents can continue to meet their health care needs in the community rather than travel elsewhere.
“With San Luis Obispo County growing, we need to ensure we have a good hospital that can keep you from going to San Francisco or L.A.,” he said.
As campaign cabinet co-chair, Bob’s role is to reach out to SLO residents who recognize the hospital’s value to the community and can pledge their support in making the project a reality. In addition to the Wackers, early supporters of the “New French Hospital” include:
- Bill and Cheryl Swanson, who gifted $2.75 million and will have the interfaith chapel named in their honor as the Swanson Family Chapel
- Jim Sargen, a longtime French supporter who donated $500,000 to the Beyond Health campaign
Of the $130 million needed, Dignity Health, which includes French in its hospital network, will put in $100 million. The remaining $30 million will come from private donors, of which the campaign has $17 million pledged.
Bob said he is pleased to be part of the fundraising. “Health care is something that affects absolutely everybody,” he said, adding: “The community has so much to offer in terms of quality of life. This hospital, to me, is a big part of the community and has been for decades. I want my family, my employees, our clients, and people in the community to have the best health care they can.”
To learn more about the Beyond Health campaign, visit the website at https://gobeyondhealth.org.
About Wacker Wealth Partners
Wacker Wealth Partners is an independent financial planning and investment management firm helping clients chart a course to their best life. Based in San Luis Obispo, Wacker Wealth Partners is a fee-only, fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor committed to exceptional wealth management. It serves couples and individuals who want to feel confident about retirement, are navigating career success while saving for tomorrow, or are seeking financial clarity in a time of transition. Learn more at wackerwealthpartners.com.