PALM COAST, Fla. – The AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation’s Moonlit Gala Dinner brought together community leaders, physicians and supporters for an unforgettable evening — and a powerful result. The event raised $150,000 to support healthcare programs, advanced technology and patient services in Flagler County.
The celebration highlighted the growth and progress at AdventHealth Palm Coast and AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway, while honoring the donors who make that progress possible.
“World class care, local hometown feel”
Dr. Tanam Ahmed, Chief of Staff for both hospitals and a family medicine physician, reflected on how much the organization has evolved.
“This night is very special for me because I see how far we’ve come from when I first came here to now. It’s amazing,” Ahmed said. “The services that we offer in Palm Coast — it truly is, and we say it all the time — world class care, you know, local hometown feel.”
“One goal — improve healthcare access”
Wally De Aquino, President and CEO of AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway, said the gala represents unity of purpose.
“This is a very important event for many different reasons,” De Aquino said. “One is getting our community together for one goal, which is to improve the healthcare access for our community.”
He added, “We’re here raising funds so we can improve in some areas and help others that are in need as well, which is what the foundation does throughout the year.”
De Aquino also shared his pride in the hospital’s achievements, including its Leapfrog “A” safety grade.
“I’m extremely proud of our team,” he said. “We are actually a four-star hospital with a Leapfrog A, which is very rare for a new hospital to start with a first grade like that. I’m just proud of our team and our physicians.”
“This is not just technology”
Dr. Ali Abubaker delivered one of the evening’s most moving moments, describing how proceeds from the gala support the Da Vinci robotic surgical platform.
“I’m here to thank our foundation for supporting the da Vinci robot platform, which helps us take care of our patients with precision and have them go back home earlier,” he said.
He shared the story of a 33-year-old mother diagnosed with advanced cancer.
“Using the robotic platform, we were able to perform the surgery on her with precision,” he said. “Now within one month, she’s back — stronger, healing, and able to continue fighting while still being a mother for her child. This is not just technology.”
He also described operating on an elderly patient who was walking the very next day.
“The patient was not running away from the hospital,” he said. “She was running back to life.”
Dr. Abubaker acknowledged that not every story ends in a cure.
“I operated on a 50-year-old with advanced esophageal cancer. Was it a cure? No,” he said. “It was dignity. It was comfort. It was telling him, ‘We are here. You are not alone.’”
He reminded donors that their generosity extends into every operating room.
“Every time I walk into the operating room, you are there with us,” he said. “Your generosity is in our hands — in every incision, every careful movement, every decision made when the patient’s life is at stake.”
“Excellence lives here”
Denyse Bales-Chubb, President and CEO of AdventHealth Palm Coast and the Flagler/St. Johns Market, called the past year transformational.
“Tonight, we celebrate progress. We celebrate partnership, and most of all, we celebrate purpose,” she said.
She highlighted national recognitions earned by both hospitals.
“These awards affirm what many of you already know — excellence lives here,” Bales-Chubb said. “These national benchmarks validate that our patients receive care that meets and often exceeds the highest expectations in healthcare.”
She emphasized that innovation and expansion are driven by community support.
“We are not just keeping pace with healthcare innovation. We are leading it,” she said.
“But none of this — not the accreditations, not the physician recruitment, not the robotic advances, not the expansion — happens in isolation. It happens with partnerships. It happens because of philanthropy. It happens because people like you believe.”
The $150,000 raised at the Moonlit Gala will help expand robotic-assisted surgery, recruit additional specialists and enhance patient care throughout Flagler County — ensuring that advanced, compassionate healthcare continues to thrive close to home.
“We had a wonderful weekend of golf and our weekend gala. We had over 300 guests join us at Hammock Beach Resort for our annual event. We were entertained by Michael Buble (sort of) and our crowd loved it,” shared John Subers, executive director of the AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation.
“The best part was that we raised just over $150,000 that will go directly to support our health care in Flagler County. Specifically, the funds this year are supporting our Da Vinci 5 Robotic program, our nursing excellence program called “Pathway to Excellence”, and our Strategic Priorities Fund which supports needed equipment. We are so blessed to be in such a supportive community.
