Orange County will soon be home to the first free surgery center in the nation.
The Lestonnac Free Clinic, which has been providing free healthcare to low-income and uninsured residents since 1979, is close to finishing the renovation of its 4,000-square-foot Orange facility into a surgical center.
Once completed, the center will perform a host of essential, non-life-threatening procedures such as hernia repairs and cataract surgeries—all free of charge, regardless of residency or health insurance coverage.
“When they get a surgery done, it’ll be a zero copay,” Executive Director Edward Gerber told the Business Journal. “We’re very excited and want this to be a model for other free clinics in the nation to show that it’s possible.”
The remodeling of the outdated building was boosted by a $4 million donation from the Thompson Family Foundation, started by Bill Thompson, the former chief executive of Pacific Investment Management Co., and his wife, Nancy.
Lestonnac expects to complete the center by January and open in February depending on city approval, according to Gerber. He said there are about 3,000 people on the waiting list.
Last year, Lestonnac recorded more than 33,000 visits by about 12,000 patients.
High Demand for Cataract Surgery, Colonoscopies
The nearly two-year renovation includes converting 3,000 square feet of the building into a surgical center equipped with bays for five pre- and post-op beds, two operating rooms, a sterilization unit and more.
Lestonnac has about 30 volunteer surgeons, ranging from eye surgeons to orthopedists, as well as 10 anesthesiologists lined up from various institutions including Kaiser Permanente, Providence St. Joseph Hospital and UCI Health.
Of the 3,000 people on the center’s waiting list, the two most in-demand procedures are for cataract surgeries and colonoscopies, according to Gerber.
Up until a year ago, Lestonnac performed colonoscopies offsite at a surgery center in Los Angeles.
During that time, it found three positives for colon cancer and were able to get the patients into proper treatment.
“Had we not done these surgeries, we would not have caught it early and that colon cancer would have cost that person their life,” Gerber said.
Lestonnac will start off with minor outpatient procedures and progress to more complex surgeries as time goes on.
$4M Thompson Family Gift
The Thompson Family Foundation originally donated $3.5 million to the clinic and gave an additional half a million dollars to help get the center finished.
Thompson previously told the Business Journal that he and his wife had been following the clinic’s work for a dozen years before donating.
“I felt this is a great story,” Thompson said. “It’s a great investment for us. They’ve done the work. It’s a perfect fit.”
Gerber said he spent two years pitching the project to Thompson.
“I had to show him how we’re going to make it work to show that we were sustainable,” Gerber said.
Since then, the clinic has obtained approximately $2 million for an endowment fund from the Orange County Community Foundation that will help keep the clinic funded “for years and years,” Gerber said.
Additional funding came from local business including a $1.2 million gift from Orange-based MS International Inc., which will be split into the endowment and an operating account.
In total, Lestonnac has raised close to $7 million to date but is still about $400,000 short of reaching its goal for the center.
The clinic is now entering the final fundraising phase before the center’s grand opening and encourages the community’s support to “get to the finish line,” Gerber said.
Lestonnac plans to use additional funds raised for equipment and recruiting more physicians, surgeons and nurses.
