Mission Hospital has added advanced treatment for neurological and spine conditions to its portfolio of services — something that could help it develop beyond its core market in South Orange County.
The hospital opened its $185 million Mission Neuroscience & Spine Institute last week. It’s in an office tower on Medical Center Road at the hospital’s primary campus in Mission Viejo.
“This could [become] a regional and quite possibly a national draw,” said Dr. Farzad Massoudi, the institute’s medical director, in an interview last week.
Massoudi said a relationship between the institute and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio could boost the institute’s appeal. Institute clinicians will communicate with the clinic and other healthcare professionals “in order to constantly enhance focus on prevention, research and education,” Mission said in a news release.
The institute houses doctors who diagnose and treat people with strokes, brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, spinal injuries and other neurological conditions. The medical staff includes seven neurosurgeons and three orthopedic surgeons for spinal procedures.
Advanced technology, such as neurosurgical robotics and a linear accelerator that delivers targeted radiation to tumors while sparing healthy tissue, is a key part of the institute.
Mission’s institute “represents an expansion of [our] presence in the region, increasing both our capacity and our ability to care for the members of our community,” said Mike Kohler, the hospital’s executive director, perioperative services and surgical services. “This results in better care for area employees and with our outreach educational and prevention programs helps create a healthier workforce.”
The majority of the cost to establish the institute—$148.6 million—came in construction, according to Kohler. Another $28 million went for equipment. Design, permitting and training cost $8.4 million.
Doctors had “tremendous input” on how the institute was designed, Massoudi said, adding that the process drew on influences from the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle and the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
Mission, which also has a Laguna Beach campus and a total of 552 licensed beds, is owned by Irvine-based St. Joseph Health. It’s a member of St. Joseph Hoag Health, an integrated healthcare delivery system that encompasses hospitals owned by St. Joseph Health and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, with hospitals in Newport Beach and Irvine.
