Kids Day at Valley Children’s paused after financial controversies

About a year after uproar over Valley Children’s Hospital’s finances and executive compensation, the hospital paused its annual Kids Day fundraiser.

“We’re not holding Kids Day this month,” hospital spokesperson Zara Arboleda confirmed over email. “We’re revisiting how we put on the event to ensure it’s impactful for the kids and families we service, and engaging and safe for our volunteers.”

Arboleda didn’t say why the annual fundraiser wasn’t happening this month, only that hospital leaders were reevaluating Kids Day. She didn’t share any timeline for when Kids Day would come back or when future decisions could be announced.

Over the years, the fundraiser has drawn hundreds of thousands in donations from community members. During Kids Day in 2017, local community members donated a record-high of $627,500 to the hospital. 

Kids Day was held annually in early March in partnership with The Fresno Bee and ABC30. Arboleda said those partnerships still exist, and the hospital is simply taking an opportunity to reimagine and refresh the annual fundraiser. 

The decision to at least hit pause on Kids Day came about a year after the public found out Valley Children’s Hospital CEO Todd Suntrapak earned $5.1 million in 2022. That was on top of the hospital giving Suntrapak a $5 million home loan before he bought $6.5 million coastal property in Carmel, California.

Scrutiny over Valley Children’s Hospital’s Kids Day fundraiser grew after Fresno city officials criticized the hospital over asking the public for money every year, all while executive pay was sky high. 

In May, a Fresnoland investigation found that Valley Children’s Hospital enriched itself more than ever before during the pandemic — with its profits, federal funding, executive compensation and financial investment portfolio reaching record highs.

However, the hospital’s community benefits expense — the money the hospital gives back directly to the community — remained stagnant through all those years. 

Fresnoland also found that of the $90.5 million the hospital spent on direct community investment in the last decade, 80% went to the hospital’s associated medical group. 

That means about $73.7 million went from Valley Children’s Hospital to Valley Children’s Medical Group, with the hospital claiming in tax filings that the exchange in funds was a community benefit. 

The hospital also accumulated about $1.3 billion in cash and investments set aside from its operation. That includes about $100 million invested in hedge funds and more than $120 million in offshore investment accounts in Central America, the Caribbeans and Europe.

The hospital’s wealth has been used by executives in non-healthcare spheres. 

Back in 2022, Valley Children’s Hospital purchased the naming rights to Fresno State’s football stadium for $10 million, and since then, questions have circled over the details in the naming rights deal, as well as conflicts of interest. 

Valley Children’s Hospital also has plans for a mixed-use 220-acre development that would include housing, retail stores, hotels, medical buildings and an entertainment complex.