$65 million gift to hospital from philanthropists Mary and Richard Compton

The Santa Barbara Cottage Health Foundation received a $65 million donation, the single largest gift in Cottage’s 135-year history, from philanthropists Mary and Richard Compton, the hospital recently announced.

In total, the Comptons have donated $65 million to support medical excellence and innovation at Cottage Health. The couple, who live in Santa Barbara, donated $15 million to establish the Mary and Richard Compton Endowment Fund.

The new $65 million gift will go toward creating and naming the Compton Center for Medical Excellence and Innovation, a new center bringing together top clinicians, educators and research investigators to propel clinical and operational innovation — advancing healthcare for patients and families, the foundation said.

The Compton Center will focus on applying the most promising clinical, educational, research, and digital advances to healthcare delivery. The Center aims to support Cottage experts and community collaborators in accelerating new projects that will help improve the health of the communities that Cottage serves.

“The Comptons’ generosity and commitment to the health of our community is extraordinary,” Ron Werft, president and CEO of Cottage Health said in a press release. “This transformational gift and crucial investment in our future allows us to identify and contribute to emerging medical technologies and research for the benefit of our patients and community.”

Richard Compton co-founded NuSil Technologies in 1979 and served as the CEO until 2015 when he retired. The company was later sold in 2016.