Stollmeyer family gives $1M to French Hospital
Mindbody CEO Rick Stollmeyer and his ex-wife are making a $1 million gift to French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo.
Rick Stollmeyer, co-founder and chief executive of SLO-based software firm Mindbody, and Lori Stollmeyer Ryan made the gift to support the hospital’s “Well into the Future” campaign, which includes the expansion and remodel of French’s birthing center. The center will be named the Stollmeyer Family Birthing Center.
Construction on the new $4 million birthing center will start soon, the hospital said, and is expected to wrap up by the end of 2015. The facility will be expanded to house additional private birthing rooms, a new family waiting area, upgraded nursing station and a new c-section suite. The center opened 16 years ago and has not had a major upgrade since, said French Hospital, which is owned by Dignity Health. More than 575 babies are delivered at the hospital each year, the organization said.
Lori Stollmeyer Ryan is a former a former OB nursing supervisor at the hospital.
“French Hospital has special meaning to both of us,” Rick Stollmeyer said in a statement. “Our youngest daughter was born there, and, after being so impressed with the care, I encouraged Lori to get a job there. Because of her job at French, I was able to start Mindbody in my garage. This makes the gift even more meaningful since it coincides with the mission and values of Mindbody to improve the health and wellness of the world through technology and innovation.”
Stollmeyer and Ryan have each remarried, but the gift is important to their new spouses as well, the hospital said.
“I worked at the hospital for 12 years and loved every moment. It was an honor to work with all the nurses and to be a part of making a difference in the lives of so many new families every day,” Ryan said in a statement.
French Hospital said it raised $376,000 at its annual gala fundraiser this year, a record amount in the nine-year history of the event. San Luis Obispo County developer Jim Copeland, another major donor to the hospital, was awarded the Louis Tedone, MD Humanitarian Award at the gala.
