Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital today received the largest single gift - by far - in its 42-year history: a $1 million check from the United Auburn Indian Community, which owns and operates Thunder Valley Casino.
The second-biggest donation to the hospital, which also came from the tribe, was $60,000.
Mitch Hanna, chief administrative officer at Auburn Faith, said today's donation was "truly historic" but not truly a surprise.
"With UAIC, it's not really surprising," he said. "Not to minimize their generosity, but they have been so generous."
Hanna said the money would help fund a $23 million expansion and renovation plan at the 97-bed hospital near Highway 49 and Bell Road. The project includes remodeling and upgrading 61 patient rooms, expanding and modernizing the hospital's four operating rooms and various renovations throughout the hospital.
"Some of that work is starting in November," Hanna said. "That will be the patient-room remodels ... the operating rooms will take a little longer."
The donation came from the tribe's Community Giving Program, which has given more than $6.3 million to nonprofit organizations since 2004.
Some gifts have gone to far-flung causes - such as victims of Hurricane Katrina and the May cyclone and tsunami in Mynamar. But the tribe has focused on nonprofits in Placer County, where the vast majority of the tribal members live, said tribe spokesman Doug Elmets.
He said the Auburn Faith gift equaled the largest previously given by the tribe - $1 million for the Capital Unity Center, a cultural center planned for downtown Sacramento.
"For many members of the tribe, Auburn Faith hospital is their hospital," he said. "This is a way for the tribe to show its appreciation."
