Premier fundraising event set for March 7 features strong community support

To continue its mission of providing the best possible service to the community, Riverside Healthcare is expanding its Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit located on the second floor of Riverside Medical Center. This exciting project – which helps to address the increasing need for mental health services in the area – is the beneficiary of this year’s Heart Ball, Riverside Healthcare Foundation’s premier fundraising event. 

“The Heart Ball this year is benefitting behavioral health/mental health services, an area that has a lot of need in the community we serve,” said Matt McBurnie, Vice President of Public Relations and Communication at Riverside. “People can give through the Foundation, and we make sure those funds support our continual advancement of high- quality care for the community.” 

The biennial Heart Ball gala, this year themed “Roaring Riverside,” features an elegant evening of dining, dancing, and community generosity. The event is set for March 7 at the Tinley Park Convention Center.

For the first time in the event’s history, there is not only one but two Diamond Sponsors, each contributing $50,000 to the behavioral health expansion project. 

The first sponsor features a group of four Riverside doctors who came together to make a significant impact.  The donors are: Dr. Juan Jimenez, neurosurgeon with the Riverside Brain & Spine Institute, Dr. Didi Omiyi, orthopedic surgeon with the Riverside Orthopedic & Spine Center, Dr. Shaud Ahmed, Interventional Radiologist, and Dr. Shamit Desai, Interventional Radiologist.

The second $50,000 Diamond Sponsor is Midwestern University, the teaching hospital partner who provides the medical residents and fellows in training at Riverside.  

“Thanks to our incredible sponsors – many of whom are supporters from our community – we are able to expand the exemplary care we provide our patients,” Phil Kambic, President and CEO of Riverside Healthcare, said. “With their help, we will continue to address this need in the community.” 

For more information on Heart Ball and a list of the 2026 sponsors, visit riversidehealthcare.org/heartball. For more information on the Foundation, or to donate, visit riversidehealthcare.org/foundation. 

About Heart Ball

The Heart Ball is Riverside Healthcare's premier fundraising event. Since the Heart Ball's inception in 2000, thousands of Riverside's supporters have gathered to celebrate efforts to bring remarkable quality and award-winning care to the region and to show continuous support for advancing these efforts well into the future. Always a different theme, complete with dancing, live entertainment and more, the biennial Heart Ball is undoubtedly a night to remember and an opportunity to contribute to efforts that will make an unforgettable impact on the lives of many in our community.