Health Commission approves Laguna Honda gift fund budget, highlights $400,000 donation for end‑of‑life care

Cha Yuma, deputy finance officer at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, presented the FY2015–16 gift fund budget to the Health Commission and outlined how the fund is governed and used to support resident activities.

Cha described long‑running expenditures that support residents' quality of life—art programs, community outings, music performances and subscriptions—and highlighted new items proposed in the budget: a nine‑month Latin Voice Choir pilot to engage Spanish‑speaking residents and a grant code tied to a recent large donation to expand end‑of‑life programs.

"We have created a new grant code for this program," Cha said of a gift from Dr. Milka Rose. Staff told the commission that Dr. Rose donated $400,000 to the gift fund to benefit end‑of‑life programs, and earlier donations include a $500,000 gift from the Duros Knight living trust. Cha said the fund began FY2014–15 with about $1.4 million in total balance (including roughly $700,000 in stock holdings) and that, with recent donations and sales of stocks in process, the projected balance could be about $2.8 million at year end.

Commissioners questioned specific line items, past-year expenses and how the fund's investments and reimbursements (including Friends of Laguna Honda contributions) affect sustainability. Cha said staff track funding and expenditures for multi‑year planning and that the current mix of donations and reimbursements supports the proposed spending plan.

Commissioner (speaker 10) moved to adopt the proposed gift fund expenditure budget. The commission approved the budget by voice vote. Staff recorded no public comment slips for that agenda item.

Next steps: Laguna Honda staff will provide ongoing quarterly updates on donations, expenditures and fund balances to the Laguna Honda joint commission, per existing practice.