Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence

The Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence/ Physician Housing Program assists in the recruitment and retention of physicians.

Sansum Clinic’s Board of Trustees established The Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence in 2012 as a tribute to the late Jon Lovelace and the Lovelace Family for their visionary support of Sansum Clinic.

The Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence helps provide a lasting legacy to Sansum Clinic and Santa Barbara and the 125,000 patients who trust us with their medical. It also enables us to keep pace with the rapidly changing healthcare environment, and anticipating the community’s needs.

Physician Housing Program

The very generous financial support of the Lovelace Family and many community donors has been instrumental in the recruitment and retention of highly skilled physicians in a broad range of specialties and practice areas coming to Santa Barbara through this innovative Physician Housing Program.

The physician housing program has been designed to be a revolving fund, whereby the proceeds from future home sales will be used to repay outstanding loans and flow back into the program, where they can be used again to help future physicians meet their housing needs.

In 2024 we extended loan offers to 9 physicians and funded 6 loans. Already in 2025, we have extended loan offers to 8 physicians. Physicians have 18 to 24 months in which to use the loan and loans range from $200,000 up to $300,000.

In our high priced real estate market our new physicians are experiencing some challenges finding affordable homes. No sooner does a home go on the market than there are many offers and most offers are well over the asking price. Some are renting while they take the time to find the right home for their family. There are even challenges in the rental market.

This program remains one of our highest priorities and enables us to continue to attract top caliber physicians from around the United States to provide the best medical care possible for our patients and the community...now and into the future.

We established a similar program for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. This program enables the Clinic to provide more team based care for patients.

Connie Frank and Evan Thompson Housing Assistance Fund

We are grateful to Connie Frank and Evan Thompson for their interest and generous support of shared appreciation loans for physicians. This new fund has been utilized by an internal medicine physician, a rheumatologist, endocrinologist and hospitalist.

For information about the Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence or to make a gift of support please contact Dru A. Hartley, Senior Director of Philanthropy at Sansum Clinic at (805) 681-7726, dhartley@sansumclinic.org

Or download and complete our mail-in donation form >

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- Elie Zouein, MD
Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep
Sansum Clinic Physician since 2022

'I joined Sansum Clinic in 2022. I was living in Los Angeles and often visited Santa Barbara and loved the town. Moving to Santa Barbara was not an easy decision to make especially with the increasing prohibitive cost of living and housing. Sansum Clinic’s Physician Housing Program played a big role in finalizing my decision to move to Santa Barbara and join Sansum’s pulmonary practice. Within less than a year, and through the program, I was able to purchase a home in Santa Barbara and establish myself and my family in this beautiful community. The process was made easy and streamlined by their team. Now, I am able to say I am a resident of beautiful Santa Barbara, I have a place I can call home and a job with amazing colleagues. Through the contributions from Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence/Physician Housing Program and Sansum Clinic’s commitment to physician success, I believe the Santa Barbara community has and will be able to retain highly qualified medical providers who will positively impact the health of this community for the years to come.'

– Ben Howard, MD
Surgery, Sansum Clinic Physician since 2017

'I had the privilege of joining Sansum Clinic after completing surgical training at UC San Francisco in 2017. As a Santa Barbara native, returning to practice in my hometown was something of a dream come true, one that the Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence and the Physician Housing Program helped make a reality for our family. We have been blessed to watch our boys grow in the home we purchased through the loan program, and we have appreciated Sansum’s continued support throughout the loan and repayment processes.

As a general surgeon, with a focus on endocrine surgery as well as robotic hernia repair, and a background in trauma research, I have cherished the opportunity to establish a practice in this unique community. In so doing, I have been continually impressed by my colleagues, and by the caliber of training and expertise that they bring to Sansum Clinic. A large part of that sustained excellence comes from support for high-level physician recruitment. The Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence makes a profound impact on our ability to maintain top-level healthcare at the Clinic, and in the Santa Barbara community.'

Dr. Ben Howard is the son of Dr. Randall Howard who was with Sansum Clinic’s Goleta Family Practice for 36 years. Dr. Howard retired in 2021.

Michael Shenoda, MD

– Michael Shenoda, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Cardiologist, Sansum Clinic Physician since 2011

'I joined Sansum Clinic in 2011. While many jobs offered a nominal relocation package, Sansum Clinic’s Physician Housing Program stood out as an attractive and enticing option for a young family. This program showcased Sansum’s commitment to supporting physicians in their transition to becoming members of the Santa Barbara community and played a major role in our family’s decision to relocate to Santa Barbara and join Sansum Clinic.'

– Bryce Holderness, MD
Internal Medicine, Sansum Clinic Physician since 2013

'I joined Sansum Clinic in 2013. Through the program I was able to purchase a home in Santa Barbara that my family and I still live in and love. This is an example of why Sansum Clinic is so special. It shows their dedication to physician success and higher recruitment ability for quality providers.'