Joyous Gala Helps Ill Children at Loma Linda Hospital

On Thursday, supporters of the Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation celebrated with good food, bid on extravagant auction prizes and honored those who devote their lives to children and young people in the community.

The celebration was the 19^th annual Foundation Gala, a fundraiser that raises hundreds of thousands for the hospital for the purchase of equipment. This year's event was at the Riverside Convention Center. It featured a sailing theme and was titled "Turning the Tide for Little Lives."

A live auction raised just more than $67,000. There was also a silent auction running and a race to the board event where people rushed to make pledges that ranged from $1 to $200.

The hospital planned to use some of the funds to purchase a $150,000 Cone Beam CT scanner, which gives physicians a 3-D image of the human skull. The device will allow children to sit in a seat while the device takes the image around them.

Organizers featured the story of the Guzman family, who's son was born with a skull deformity. The process of diagnosing him would have gone easier with the Cone Beam machine, which would replace the standard CT scanner, which is difficult to use on children.

“A parent will be able to stand next to them,” said Dr. Subhas Gupta, chairman of the Loma Linda University Health Care Department of Plastic Surgery.