Barker Foundation Pledges $1 Million

ENDOWMENT SUPPORTS EISENHOWER NURSING PROGRAM

(Left to Right) Lynda Sakai, RN, Louise White, Cheif Nursing Officer, Eisenhower medical Center, Nancy Harris, Karen Stuartt, RN, Tina Wallum, RN, and Annette Brown, RN.

The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation has pledged $1 million to Eisenhower Medical Center’s Nurses Continuing Education Program. Eisenhower’s registered nurses often seek advancement in the field via continuing education courses for specialized training and certification as required in various areas of nursing, such as critical care medicine and emergency medicine.

“Nursing is an ever-growing field and we must meet the challenges that it demands,” says Louise White, RN, Eisenhower Medical Center’s Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services. “The Barker Foundation’s generous gift will provide a nursing education endowment that will secure the educational advancement and clinical excellence of nursing at Eisenhower for years to come. We are so grateful for this wonderful gift and the impact it will have for our patients.”

Once established, the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation Endowment Fund will enable proficient Eisenhower nursing staff to achieve expertise and national certification in medical specialties, an essential element of professional practice. Additionally, the Fund will allow Eisenhower to bring specialty certification instructors on-site for the purpose of doubling the number of certified nurses in various specialties, including telemetry, surgery, critical care and emergency medicine among others. The creation of an endowment ensures the long-lasting impact of the gift, as the principal will remain intact while returns on investment of the $1 million are utilized.

“I am pleased to present Eisenhower Medical Center a $1 million pledge to establish a Nurses Continuing Education Endowment Fund,” says Nancy Harris, Chair of the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation. “Coeta Barker realized the importance of a nursing career and established nursing scholarship endowments at both College of the Desert and California State University San Bernardino, Palm Desert campus,” recalls Harris. “Before she passed away, Coeta expressed her desire to enhance the nursing population here in the Coachella Valley, and she wanted to contribute to Eisenhower to ensure this endeavor.”

Representatives from Eisenhower’s nursing administration and nursing education departments thanked Harris at a luncheon held in December at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower, presenting her with an Eisenhower Medical Center white lab coat and a framed gift of thanks signed by nursing staff (pictured above.)