Courtesy photos.
SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation (SBCHF) held its annual Party of the Year on March 7, 2026, at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta. With more than 500 guests in attendance, the black-tie event raised over $810,000 in support of Cottage Children’s Medical Center.
The Party of the Year recognizes healthcare professionals and celebrates donors whose generosity strengthens high?quality pediatric care across the region. The event’s program featured remarks from Heather Hambleton and Lisa Iscovich, the Party of the Year event co-chairs; Eric Seale, Chair of the Cottage Health Board of Directors; Scott Wester, President and CEO of Cottage Health; and Dr. Miriam Parsa, Chief Pediatric Medical Officer for Cottage Children’s Medical Center. Guests also enjoyed an enchanting performance by State Street Ballet.
As the program drew to a close, guests were invited to explore The Giving Sea, a collection of meaningful ways to support pediatric care. Each item featured in The Giving Sea represents a moment of comfort, connection, or healing for a child and their family. Learn more at cottagehealth.org/givingsea.
The Naomi and Ben Bollag Diamond Sponsorship of the gala helps make it possible for Cottage to provide the highest level of care to patients and families throughout the region. This generous sponsorship and ongoing support from Ben Bollag continues Naomi’s legacy of visionary philanthropy, generosity and compassion for our community.
The gala’s design, a collaboration between the Party of the Year Committee and Bon Fortune Events, transformed the ballroom into a dazzling, immersive experience.
A video featured the remarkable story of Athena Sunderland, who was delivered prematurely and underwent extensive treatment in the Haselton Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cottage Children’s Medical Center. After surviving the 2025 Palisades Fire, Athena’s mother, Emily, soon faced another crisis when her water broke unexpectedly at 28 weeks, leaving her and her husband, Robert, to navigate fear and uncertainty while caring for their three other young children. Cottage’s expert NICU team supported not only Athena but the entire Sunderland family—providing compassionate, comprehensive care that helped them stabilize, heal, and rebuild their lives in Santa Barbara. View the video story at https://www.cottagehealth.org/athena
Building on the Cottage Tiara Ball’s 20-year legacy of lifesaving care, the 2026 Party of the Year expanded the impact of the event to meet the growing needs of children in our community. Proceeds from the gala support the full spectrum of pediatric care at Cottage Children’s Medical Center—from emergency services and over a dozen outpatient specialties to the quiet comforts that surround a child’s healing.The Party of the Year is made possible by dedicated community volunteers, including Co?Chairs Heather Hambleton and Lisa Iscovich, along with Gina Andrews, Katy Bazylewicz, Andrew Brown, Sharon Jordano, Allison LaBarge, Mari McAlister, Sue Neuman, Alex Nourse, Cathy Quijano, Betsy Turner, Mary Werft, Nicole Wester, and Margaret Wilkinson.
2026 Party of the Year Top Sponsors include:
Diamond Sponsor
Ben and Naomi Bollag
Heart Sponsors
Chivaroli & Associates Insurance Services
Jeff and Sharon Jordano
Jordano’s
Anonymous
Emerald Sponsors
Jerry and Geraldine Bidwell & Ronna Hitchcock Hoffman
CenCal Health
Dancing Tides Foundation
Epic
David and Anna Grotenhuis
Tom and Deborah Loeb
Harold McAlister Charitable Foundation / Mari and Patrick McAlister
Kay McMillan
Lisa M. Moore
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
For more information about the Party of the Year and ways to support Cottage Health, visit
About Cottage Health | CottageHealth.org — Cottage Health is a not-for-profit health system providing advanced medical care on California’s Central Coast. In the past year, its hospitals in Goleta, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley cared for 20,833 inpatient admissions, 93,281 emergency department visits and 1,971 newborn deliveries. With more than 700 physicians, including specialists typically found only at university medical centers, Cottage offers expert, comprehensive care. As a teaching institution, it trains physicians through residency programs in medical, surgical, pediatric and radiology specialties. Cottage Health is home to the Central Coast’s only Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and an advanced comprehensive stroke center. Its specialty services include Cottage Children’s Medical Center, Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital, the Santa Barbara Neuroscience Institute, Cottage Heart & Vascular Center and Cottage Center for Orthopedics. Beyond its hospitals, Cottage expands care through primary and specialty clinics, urgent care centers and 24/7 provider access via Cottage Virtual Care.
