Walking in the first completed patient room of City of Hope Orange County’s upcoming 73-bed cancer hospital was “surprisingly emotional” for OC President Annette Walker.
“We have spent hours and hours talking about every detail, and to actually see it realized, I didn’t expect to have an emotional reaction,” Walker told the Business Journal.
City of Hope is building Orange County’s only hospital exclusively focused on treating and curing cancer. It is still targeted to open the 164,000-square-foot hospital by the end of this year.
The six-story Irvine facility, which broke ground in 2022, will be connected to the adjacent Lennar Foundation Cancer Center. Together, both will operate as one building, Walker said.
Between now and then, Walker said that City of Hope is aiming to recruit over 50 of the best cancer experts across the U.S., as well as 500 new staff from within Orange County.
Once completed, the new hospital along with its clinics in Irvine, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach will create the largest cancer dedicated network in Orange County, according to officials.
The Duarte-based cancer research institution in 2019 revealed that it’s investing more than $1.5 billion to bring cancer care closer to Orange County.
Increasing Clinical Trials
The new hospital will be equipped with four operating rooms (ORs), an advanced imaging lab and a blood bank.
City of Hope is bringing in robotics and other advanced equipment into the ORs, including the latest Da Vinci Surgical Systems for minimally invasive surgeries and interventional radiology technology from Siemens.
Additionally, there will be an evaluation and treatment center (ETC) where doctors will determine if cancer patients need to be hospitalized or if they can be stabilized and go home.
The ETC will be a new unit that will allow City of Hope to perform transplants in the hospital, as well as more clinical trials.
Research is among the reasons City of Hope pushed so hard to build an inpatient hospital, Walker said.
“There are certain clinical trials that you cannot do or that need to be facilitated with an inpatient stay, so this will expand the kind of clinical trials that we’ll be able to do in Orange County,” Walker said.
One of City of Hope’s current clinical trials centers around early detection of cancer.
Cancer survival is directly linked to the stage of discovery, Walker said.
The cancer death rate in the U.S. has declined 33% since 1991, largely due to early cancer detection and new treatments, according to a report by American Cancer Society.
“In conjunction with the opening, we’re planning on starting a really broad trial here in Orange County,” Walker said.
Mock Tour of the Facility
City of Hope last April invited more than 500 people in the community to tour and give feedback on designs for the new cancer hospital before plans were finalized.
It created a to-scale cardboard replica of patient rooms, imaging suits, a pharmacy and several other rooms for them to walk through.
Their input helped guide elements such as what food will be served in the hospital.
All food will be prepared by City of Hope staff instead of being outsourced from cafeteria services.
Walker said that the food options have been tailored to not only be nutritious for patients’ health but also appetizing, a word not typically associated with hospital food.
“We know that cancer patients don’t always want to eat, so we planned really fresh food that’s organically grown, not pre-packaged and not pre-heated,” Walker said.
As with the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center, Feng Shui “experts” also weighed in on the design.
The hospital will feature abundant windows to allow for natural light, open air balconies and artwork to create an environment that “supports healing and comfort,” Walker said.
Treated More than 3,200 Patients
At the same time, City of Hope is continually revamping its outpatient services to accept more new patients faster.
“We’re several years ahead of what we thought our predicted demand would be, so we’re adjusting our operations to support that,” Walker said.
City of Hope is adding a list of new specialties to its radiation oncology unit, which is touted by officials as one of the most advanced in the country.
The Lennar Foundation Cancer Center has cared for more than 32,000 people since it first opened in 2020, according to Walker.
City of Hope’s radiation oncology department, led by medical director Dr. Percy Lee, has about 50 employees and is home to a trio of advanced machines that tailor radiation therapy to individual patients.
Acquiring 52 Acres of Land at Great Park
Last December, the Business Journal was first to report on City of Hope’s $88.5 million purchase of 52 acres of undeveloped land at the FivePoint Gateway office complex, the same area as its growing Irvine campus.
It bought the land at a bargain from longtime development partner and master developer of Great Park Neighborhoods, Five Point Holdings LLC (NYSE: FPH).
City of Hope also bought the 2000 FivePoint building where it previously was leasing space for its administrative offices with more than 100 employees.
At this time, City of Hope has no immediate plans yet for the newly acquired land; the purchase will “go a long way in securing City of Hope’s future in Orange County,” Walker said.
City of Hope now owns 63.5 total acres at the Great Park.
