Providence Saint John's Health Center honored four distinguished physicians during its second annual endowed chair investiture ceremony Sept. 3 at the Brentwood Country Club.
The ceremony recognized Leslie M. Kaplan, M.D., urologist, recipient of the Stanley H. Lucas Endowed Chair in Urology; Daniel F. Kelly, M.D., neurosurgeon, recipient of the Kathy and John Danhakl Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery; Courtney C.J. Voelker, M.D., Ph.D., neurotologist and otolaryngologist, recipient of the Singleton Endowed Chair in Neurotology; and Timothy G. Wilson, M.D., urologist and urologic oncologist, recipient of the Ensign-Alamo-Wilson Distinguished Endowed Chair in Urologic Oncology.
More than 160 guests attended the event, including donors, medical staff, hospital leadership and foundation trustees.
"Our endowed chair recipients have brought transformative academic-level research, clinical practice and results to our community hospital, profoundly changing lives for the better," said Michael Ricks, chief executive of Providence Saint John's Health Center and LA-Coastal Service Area.
Endowed chairs represent the highest honor Providence Saint John's bestows upon its physicians and are made possible through philanthropic support.
The ceremony also recognized the donors whose generosity made these endowments possible. The Stan Lucas Trust established the chair in urology in gratitude for care Lucas received at Providence Saint John's. Stanley Lucas was a UC Berkeley engineering graduate and lifelong entrepreneur who founded Lucas Automotive Engineering in 1957.
Kathy and John Danhakl endowed their chair, inspired by their personal experience with neurological disease. Their gift supports physicians like Kelly whose work is transforming how neurological conditions are understood and treated.
Cary and Will Singleton are longtime supporters of Providence Saint John's and founders of the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy & Entrepreneurship. This is their second endowed chair at the health center.
The Ensign Cancer Research Foundation, founded to carry forward the vision of Michael Ensign, established their chair in 2024 to honor Wilson's leadership in urologic oncology and robotic-assisted surgery. The foundation is led by President Tony Alamo, M.D., with trustees David Ensign and Eric Ensign.
"These endowed chairs are made possible by visionary philanthropists whose generosity fuels discovery, healing and hope," said Sheryl A. Bourgeois, Ph.D., president and CEO of Saint John's Health Center Foundation.
Edited by SMDP Staff