Riverside Healthcare is expanding its Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit at Riverside Medical Center, aiming to meet the rising demand for mental health services in the community. The expansion project is supported by this year’s Heart Ball, the main fundraising event of the Riverside Healthcare Foundation.
Matt McBurnie, Vice President of Public Relations and Communication at Riverside, said, “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. People can give through the Foundation, and we make sure those funds support our continual advancement of high- quality care for the community.”
The Heart Ball gala, which takes place every two years and will be held on March 7 at the Tinley Park Convention Center, features dining, dancing, and opportunities for attendees to support local healthcare initiatives. This year’s theme is “Roaring Riverside.”
For the first time in its history, there are two Diamond Sponsors for the event. Each sponsor is contributing $50,000 toward the behavioral health expansion project. One group includes four Riverside doctors: Dr. Juan Jimenez from the Riverside Brain & Spine Institute; Dr. Didi Omiyi from the Riverside Orthopedic & Spine Center; Dr. Shaud Ahmed and Dr. Shamit Desai, both Interventional Radiologists. The other Diamond Sponsor is Midwestern University, which partners with Riverside as a teaching hospital.
Phil Kambic, President and CEO of Riverside Healthcare, stated: “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. With their help, we will continue to address this need in the community.”
More information about Heart Ball and a list of 2026 sponsors can be found at riversidehealthcare.org/heartball. Details about donating or learning more about the Foundation are available at riversidehealthcare.org/foundation.
Since it began in 2000, Heart Ball has brought together thousands of supporters to celebrate improvements in regional healthcare and to raise funds supporting ongoing advancements.
