'Dancing For Our Stars': $278,000 for MemorialCare

More than 700 people attended the fourth annual “Dancing for Our Stars” gala on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Westin Long Beach. This year, the beneficiaries of the gala were Long Beach women and others cared for at the MemorialCare Center for Women at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach, and at Long Beach Memorial.

From the hospital's press release:

"The Center for Women recently embarked on a large-scale renovation of its perinatal special care unit (high-risk pregnancy care), antepartum and postpartum units, newborn nursery, welcome and waiting area and fetal diagnostics unit. Additional resources are planned to go towards upgrading capital equipment including ultrasound machines and a video laproscopy tower. The gala raised a net amount of $278,000 to help with this project which is being completed in several phases.

The annual gala featured Long Beach community members and Center for Women physicians and staff. Dancers included Supervisor Don Knabe and his wife Julie; Lisa Ramelow and Geoffrey Nighswonger; Martin W. Muth, M.D., chief of staff, MemorialCare Center for Women and wife Sandra; Jeanna Mingram and Anthony Addotta; Ryan Choura and former Miss Long Beach Ashley Prinzen and Susan Nicholson and Michael Fawver. The competition was judged by Justin Rudd, Julie Jones and Rick Bryson. Attendees had the opportunity to fundraise by "bidding" on their favorite performance during the competition.

Equal weight was given to pre-fundraising, event night fundraising and judges’ scores to crown the overall winner. After tabulating all of the scores, Don and Julie Knabe were crowned the 2012 winners of “Dancing for Our Stars.” After the winners were announced, the crowd danced the night away.

"'This is such a great event and for the Center for Women to be the beneficiary means a lot to not only our hospital, but to every expectant mother and newborn baby that will receive our care in the future,' says Michael Nageotte, M.D., medical director, MemorialCare Center for Women at Miller Children’s and Long Beach Memorial. “'The funds that have been raised from the gala will help us to continue the major renovations we’re making to the Center for Women. From all the physicians and staff that work at the Center for Women, I want to thank the community and everyone who supported and contributed to this event.'”