Gift is one of the largest in health center’s history
MID-CITY Thirteen years after the devastating Northridge earthquake rocked St. John’s Health Center, forcing it to evacuate 300 patients and completely demolish its north wing, officials at the hospital celebrated a $35 million gift on Wednesday that will fund the completion of a new inpatient facility and help begin planning for a new south campus.
Officials are renaming the future facility the Chan Soon-Shiong Center for Life Sciences to honor a $25 million grant from Michele B. Chan, a former actress, and her husband, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a leader in medical research whose company, Abraxis, developed a ground-breaking treatment for those suffering from breast cancer.
Another $10 million from the couple will go towards the development of a new south wing for the hospital, as well as a center for translational sciences.
“This is a very special day for St. John’s,” said Lou Lazatin, president and chief executive officer of the health center. “Thirteen years ago, the Northridge earthquake rumbled the ground and literally tore this hospital apart... Today, we are feeling a different kind of tremblor rocking St. John’s”
Lazatin was referring to Chan and Soon- Shiong, whom she called “messengers of great hope,” whose generosity will help St. John’s continue to provide compassionate care for patients while developing the medications that will change the face of health care for generations to come.
“The research initiative spearheaded by Dr. Soon-Shiong, Michele B. Chan and their family will enable us to bring world-class faculty, basic scientists, surgeons and clinicians who are proud and honored to be associated with St. John’s,” Lazatin said.
“Together we will create the Chan Soon- Shiong Center for Translational Sciences at St. John’s that we believe will be unparalleled anywhere in the world,” Lazatin added. “In doing so, we will create new modalities for treating disease and establish a model for other translational initiatives in bio-science medicine.”
Translational medicine is a branch of medical research that attempts to more directly connect basic research to patient care. Translational medicine is growing in importance in the health care industry.
Translational medicine typically refers to the “translation” of basic research into real therapies for real patients. The emphasis is on the linkage between the laboratory and the patient’s bedside, without a real disconnect. This is often called the “bench to bedside” definition.
Translational medicine can also have a much broader definition, referring to the development and application of new technologies in a patient driven environment — where the emphasis is on early patient testing and evaluation.
In modern health care, there is a move to a more open, patient driven research process, and the embrace of a more research driven clinical practice of medicine.
At St. John’s, translational medicine is already in practice, which is one of the reasons Soon-Shiong and Chan chose the facility. The couple also have a close, personal connection, with Chan and her mother, having been patients.
“We are exceptionally blessed to be able to give back in a way that grows and helps people in a meaningful way,” said Chan, who praised St. John’s doctors and nurses for their “excellent, compassionate care.”
“I’ve come to see that this is truly a ministry,” Chan said before a capacity crowd, which filled the hospital’s chapel. “That is something the doctors and nurses do every single day … Thank you for welcoming us as part of your family.”
Soon-Shiong said he hopes his gift can make St. John’s a leader in medical research and patient care, mirroring the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Mayo Clinic.
“We need to become a model for the rest of the world,” Soon-Shiong said. “The road has just begun and I’m very excited.”
The inpatient facility currently under construction on Arizona Avenue and 20th Street is expected to be completed by 2009 and include 186 private rooms, 24 intensive care rooms and 48 orthopedic rooms, according to hospital officials.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 18, 2007. Read the original PDF.