Chair Dale Leishman,

I am Dale Leishman, and it is my privilege to be this year's Chair of Orchard Hospital Foundation Board of Directors. Since 1948 our small community hospital has served and saved countless lives each year. When I was given the opportunity to join the Orchard Hospital Foundation, I immediately knew it was something that I could do, and in some small way, serve by giving back to the community where I have lived and loved raising my family. For my fellow Foundation members to choose me as this year's Chair is quite an honor, and I consider it to be one of the highlights of my life. 

Our Foundation consists of volunteers in and around Gridley with one purpose in mind, to well as our local students, and much more. provide financial support and promote Orchard Hospital as an integral component of our rural community's health care system. For me personally, it has been very rewarding to help fundraise and host events that ultimately end up being used to treat our citizens. In the past three years, our Foundation has supported Orchard Hospital with the purchases of 3D mammography, a state-of-the-art 64-slice CT scanner, new digital X-ray equipment, a van to assist elderly patients to receive care, the addition of a new bulk liquid oxygen tank, continuing education and scholarships for employees as our local students, and much more.

Our need for Orchard Hospital is at an all-time high. Our citizens desperately need a new facility. A new hospital will attract and retain top quality providers, staff, and be a beacon of Gridley and our neighboring towns. Communities with hospitals are proven to attract young families while at the same time offering comfort to retirees looking to settle in Gridley and surrounding areas.

This Seventy-Year-Old Facility has served its purpose well, but new state requirements will inevitably shut our little hospital down if we don't act, and act quickly. In 2030, state mandates will require the construction of earthquake-proof hospitals. Orchard Hospital does not currently meet those requirements; thus, we need to rebuild.

How will we do it? We need stronger community support and more awareness about the services Orchard Hospital offers. I am proud to see Orchard Hospital giving more attention to small, local businesses, and I hope our citizens will reciprocate that with Orchard Hospital. Too many businesses struggle when its locals choose to spend their money elsewhere.

I am excited you have found our webpage. Come back often to see updates. If you'd like to be a member of our Foundation or a friend of the Foundation, please use the Contact Us form located at the top of this page, and someone will reach out to you with more information.

Dale Leishman

Orchard Hospital Foundation Chair