Each spring, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s gathers its Florida community to recognize remarkable individuals advancing its mission. This year, two couples – Steve and Loree Potash and Ida and Irwin Haber – were honored at the Naples and Palm Beach and Circle of Friends events, respectively.

A Legacy of Literacy and Family-Centered Care: Steve and Loree Potash

For decades, Steve and Loree Potash have championed the idea that strong communities begin with strong foundations for children and families. Their transformational support for UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s brought to life the Steve and Loree Potash Women & Newborn Center at UH Ahuja Medical Center, a space designed around comfort, dignity, and exceptional care for mothers and infants. Their gift also launched Baby’s First Books, placing early literacy tools right in the hands of new families. Steve serves on the UH Board of Directors.

Loree and Steve Potash

The Potashes’ commitment to literacy reaches across the globe. As founders of OverDrive, the world’s leading platform for digital books, they have helped millions access reading and learning resources. Through their family foundation and literacy programs, they are expanding opportunities for children everywhere.

Leaders in Service, Access and Community Health: Ida and Irwin Haber

For more than 15 years, Ida and Irwin Haber have been trusted partners of UH, combining visionary philanthropy with hands-on leadership to advance care across the health system.

The Habers' first gift supported radiology, an area that quickly became a personal passion. Their early investment led to the establishment of the Ida and Irwin Haber Imaging Suite at UH Ahuja Medical Center and sparked a commitment to strengthening radiology services systemwide. Their advocacy inspired other giving and created the Ida and Irwin Haber and Wei-Shen Chin, MD Chair in Radiology – the department’s first endowed chair. As champions of radiology, they inspired others to expand mobile health programs that bring essential screenings, like mammography, directly into underserved neighborhoods. They also inspired support for pediatric imaging at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s.

Ida and Irwin Haber

Their commitment continued with Phase 2 of the UH Ahuja Medical Center expansion and was recognized through the naming of the Ida and Irwin Haber Emergency Medicine Suite, Outpatient Imaging Suite and Breast Health Imaging Suite.

The couple’s volunteer service has equaled their philanthropy in impact. Irwin is a member and former chair of both the UH East Market Board of Directors and UH Ahuja Medical Center Board. He chaired the UH Ahuja Phase 2 Capital Campaign Committee and serves on the Because of You Campaign Committee. Ida chairs the UH Ahuja Leadership Council, is past chair of the Radiology Subcommittee for the UH Ahuja Phase 2 Capital Campaign, and has served three times as co-chair of Five Star Sensation. Together, Ida and Irwin serve on the UH National Art Leadership Council and UH Seidman Cancer Center Strategic Roundtable and National Leadership Council.

“Steve and Loree Potash and Ida and Irwin Haber represent two powerful forms of leadership,” said Marissa Kiefer, MHSA, President, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s and UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital; and the Patti DePompei, RN, MSN, Distinguished Chair in Women’s and Children’s Healthcare Leadership. “The Potashes are helping families start life with confidence and a love of reading, while the Habers are broadening access to early detection and intervention. Both bring healthcare directly to our community, beyond hospital walls, to make sure families can thrive.”