Onvida Health Foundation Marks 50 Years with Night of Gratitude Honoring Donors

The Onvida Health Foundation celebrated 50 years of service with a Night of Gratitude in Yuma, honoring donors, supporters, volunteers and community partners who have sustained the foundation’s mission in the region. Leaders used the anniversary event to outline priorities for keeping talent and technology in Yuma and to publicly thank those who have backed local health care for half a century.

Board member Dr. Linda Elliott‑Nelson highlighted workforce development as a central focus, pointing to scholarships that target local students and employees. “We invest in people [with scholarships] who may be already working for Onvida Health, or who are in our high schools, or our college or universities, who are working on skills who intend to stay in the Yuma area and help our population,” Dr. Elliott‑Nelson said, describing the foundation’s strategy to retain homegrown clinicians.

Technology investments were another pillar discussed at the Night of Gratitude. Shelley Mellon, chair of the board of trustees, referenced surgical and recovery improvements currently available at Yuma Regional Medical Center: “The new and upcoming technology,” said Shelley Mellon, chair of the board of trustees. “Whether it’s the Da Vinci robots that we have at our hospital and other top technology that makes the recovery easier for our patients, and that experience even better.”

Speakers also framed a new medical education program as a long-term solution to local physician shortages. Foundation leaders announced a partnership with the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix to launch the program. “The announcement of the new med school - I think that’s the most exciting for us. For me, being from Yuma, that’s a game-changer,” Williams said. “Somebody can be born here, get their education, and now can become a doctor right here in Yuma without having to leave.”

The Night of Gratitude came amid other Onvida Health and Yuma Regional Medical Center initiatives that underscore the system’s community presence. Onvida Health lists its headquarters at 2400 S. Avenue A, Yuma, AZ 85364, with general information at 928-336-2000 and a Find a Provider line at 928-336-2273. Recent press items on the organization’s site note that Yuma Regional Medical Center recognized more than 400 employees celebrating milestone anniversaries, representing a combined 6,481 years of service, and that YRMC Volunteer Services marked 28 hospital student volunteers graduating this year.

Foundation leaders said the Night of Gratitude was both a celebration and a springboard: scholarship pipelines, investment in technologies such as Da Vinci robots, and the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix partnership are framed as concrete steps to expand access to care and strengthen Yuma’s health-care workforce for the next 50 years.