The Eaton Fire: Caring for the community amid loss

Huntington Health, a Cedars-Sinai affiliate, recently partnered with the Hospital Association of Southern California to produce a special video about Huntington’s incredible response to the Eaton Fire during a time of extreme crisis – and for many employees – personal hardship.

“Within the first three days, about 50% of our staff were affected by the evacuation orders,” said Lori J. Morgan, MD, MBA, president and CEO, Huntington Health. “What is special about Huntington – that people still came to work – reflects how Huntington is by and of this community.”

Alexis Rieber, MD, Valerie Szopa, communications, and Jennifer Schweitzer, food and nutrition services, were among the Huntington Health staff members personally impacted by the fires, and they graciously shared their stories.  

Jennifer shared, “I went straight up the mountain, and all I can see is fire…smoke.”

“We were home eating dinner, and we looked out the window, and we saw the hillside of Eaton Canyon starting to light up,” said Dr. Rieber. “There’s not much happiness in the fact that the neighborhoods I grew up in, that I lived in for the past eight years, had burned down.”

Despite this, Dr. Rieber saw a silver lining: “One of the most beautiful things about this fire was the fact that the Huntington community completely came together,” she shared.

 “I’ve never been surrounded by a stronger group of people in my life…we are all looking out for each other, helping one another,” Valerie added.

Whether deploying nurses to the Pasadena Convention Center, evacuating vulnerable community members or converting a conference room into a food/personal care pantry for employees, Huntington showed up for each other and showed its compassionate heart.

For more details about the Hospital Association of Southern California, go to: Homepage – HASC