Robert Stone, CEO of City of Hope, discussed the large philanthropic gift from the Lennar Corporation.
City of Hope Orange County, a nonprofit cancer research and treatment center based in Irvine, California, announced Wednesday morning that it received a $50 million philanthropic donation from Lennar Corporation, a Florida-based home construction company.
The monetary pledge will go towards the creation of the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center at City of Hope Orange County, a 190,000-square-foot facility slated to open in 2022.
Additionally, the gift will support collaborative research between City of Hope, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of Miami Health System, and Jackson Health System.
Related: City of Hope to Invest $1B in New Irvine Cancer Care Campus
Robert Stone, CEO of City of Hope, discussed the large philanthropic gift with HealthLeaders, calling the contribution "transformational" as the organization emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's something that provides hope in the fight against cancer and I want to say thank you to Jon Jaffe [co-chief executive officer and co-president of Lennar,]" Stone said. "I've learned in my 25 years at City of Hope that you truly stand on the shoulders of giants and that you find people who share the vision. Lennar is one of those organizations that has been about excellence through its lifespan and we're going to make a difference together for patients who are fighting cancer."
City of Hope also announced that it will open the only hospital dedicated to cancer care and treatment in Orange County at its Irvine campus in 2025.
Stone said he hopes that the financial infusion for the organization will be able to expand access to the organization's cancer patient population, which previously traveled significant distances to receive care.
"This is answering a need that I think COVID accelerated and made it clear that the strategy of bringing cancer care and advanced care close to home is just crucial," Stone said. "As you look at what this gift will do, it will fund our advanced plans for the 190,000-square-foot outpatient cancer center, it will allow us to offer highly specialized cancer care and clinical research with Phase 1 through 3 clinical trials, precision medicine, and early detection and prevention programs, but it's really about the patient and it's far more than a building."
Jack O'Brien is the Content Team Lead and Finance Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.