By Daily Press staff
Saint John’s Health Center will honor this weekend two celebrities for their work and commitment to the hospital.
Broadcast journalist Maria Shriver and her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, will be honored as the 2002 Caritas Award recipients on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Saint John’s Health Center’s Caritas Award Gala. The gala will support essential community services and programs provided by the health center’s emergency department while honoring Shriver and Schwarzenegger for their dedication to serving the community.
Saint John’s emergency department treats about 27,000 ER patients a year. With the recent expansion of Fast Track — a rapid assessment system through which patients arriving at the ER with less urgent symptoms are directed to a dedicated area where they can be treated and discharged without waiting for other more emergent patients to be seen — Saint John’s officials say they are strengthening the hospital’s position as the top community hospital in California.
“Maria and Arnold have been longtime friends and supporters of Saint John’s Health Center, where all four of their children were born and have generously contributed to many of our programs and services,” said Sister Marie Madeleine, president of Saint John’s Health Center. “In addition, their involvement in many other charitable and education endeavors, such as the Special Olympics, the Inner-City Games Foundation and the After School Alliance program, truly embodies the spirit of the Caritas Award, which honors individuals for their strong commitment to the community and to Saint John’s.”
For more information, or to obtain tickets to the 2002 Caritas Award Gala, call (310) 829-8423.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 24, 2002. Read the original PDF.