Orange County philanthropists and longtime Hoag supporters the Martin and Pickup families made a $25 million donation to create a unique state-of-the-art facility that will focus on treating people suffering from substance abuse disorders.
Set to open in 2028 on the campus of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in New-port Beach, CareMar Recovery Center will provide a full spectrum of care, offering both inpatient and outpatient services.
The donation, spearheaded by Carole Pickup, along with her children Devon Martin, Todd Pickup and their spouses, was inspired by Carole’s long-standing commitment to addiction recovery. Their gift aims to bridge a significant gap in local treatment options, ensuring that people across the region have access to the support they need.
“Our hope is that the Martin/Pickup family gift to the CareMar Center will inspire others in our community who share a similar passion for a community-based recovery facility to make large gifts which would provide additional philanthropic support to enhance the programming and provide financial assistance for recovery patients who reside in Orange County,” the Martin and Pickup families said in a statement to the Business Journal.
Devon Martin, who serves on the Hoag Hospital Foundation Board of Directors, said it’s been a long-time goal for her family to create a facility that people can turn to for life-changing resources.
“We see this gift as a first step toward making that a reality for everyone, no matter where they are in their recovery journey,” Devon Martin said.
Treating All Types of Substance Abuse Disorders
The CareMar Recovery Center will be located on the lower side of Hoag’s Newport Beach campus, in a 25,000-square-foot, two-story building. The first floor will be dedicated to residential treatment services, while the second floor will host outpatient services, including a partial hospitalization program and an intensive outpatient program.
The residential area is designed to feel like a home with private consultation rooms and indoor and outdoor communal spaces that promote wellness and collaboration. Expert staff, including physicians, therapists, drug and alcohol counselors, and other specialists, are envisioned to be part of the comprehensive team, Hoag said.
Eventually, the facility aims to host wellness initiatives and evening programs for alumni.
Kambria Hittelman, Hoag’s executive director of addiction medicine, told the Business Journal that it’s rare to have a treatment facility like this on a hospital campus.
“It’s very unique,” she said. “The fact that we have the emergency room right here for any kind of medical acute issue is great.”
The on-campus facility will also be comforting to patients familiar with Hoag.
“Having it here is really necessary because it feels like their home where they come to get health care,” said Hittelman, who also serves as executive director of Hoag’s ASPIRE and young adult mental health pro-grams. “So, I think it makes them feel much better that it’s on site at a hospital.”
The Hoag executive said the center will treat any kind of substance abuse disorder, from opioids and benzodiazepines to alcohol.
Other Hoag executives also highlighted the center’s unique hospital-based model, which will integrate medical and addiction services, offering tailored treatment plans for patients.
“Being part of a hospital allows us to care for patients with addiction and co-existing medical conditions, which is often a barrier to treatment in other settings,” Dr. Matthew Reed, Hoag’s chief of inpatient pain and out-patient addiction services and medical director for residential addiction treatment, said in a statement.
“This unique integration ensures we provide comprehensive care that addresses all aspects of a patient’s health.”
Urgency in Addressing the Addiction Crisis
Hoag currently has treatment services for patients recovering from substance abuse. But the new center will allow Hoag to grow its capacity to help many other community members, as well as expand into certain tracks such as “gender specific tracks, trauma tracks, first responders tracks,” Hittelman said.
Robert Braithwaite, Hoag president and chief executive, said there’s a major need for a first-in-class facility that expands Hoag’s ability to deliver vital services for addiction support and care.
“This gift will put our plans into action and with addiction, moving fast is para-mount to saving lives,” Braithwaite said in a statement.
More than 5,500 hospitalizations and nearly 700 deaths each year are caused by drug and alcohol overdoses or poisonings in Orange County, according to a 2022 Orange County Health Agency report. Furthermore, the opioid crisis has seen a dramatic rise, according to the agency’s latest statistics.
“When accounting for all the substances involved in a drug or alcohol-related death, alcohol and opioids are most frequently present. In fact, there was a 45% increase in the number of deaths involving opioids from 2019 to 2020,” the health care agency said in the 2022 report.
Hittelman noted that roughly 350,000 people in Orange County suffer from substance abuse and “not a huge percentage of them get treatment.”
Carole Pickup, the center’s namesake, has been an advocate for addiction recovery for decades. She called it a “blessing” to provide a facility for people to heal so they can live happier lives.
“It’s been rewarding for me to dedicate so much of my life to raising awareness and re-sources for people living with the challenges of addiction,” she said. “So many people need a safe place and compassionate experts around them to lift them up. I am grateful my family can join with Hoag to create this center for our community.”
A History of Giving Back
The $25 million gift follows other major contributions from the Pickup family, including a $50 million gift in 2023 to establish the Richard H. Pickup Center for Brain Health and a $15 million donation in 2018 to create Hoag’s Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute.
The family’s philanthropic efforts led by Dick Pickup, who died earlier this year after having a stroke, have consistently aimed at transformative initiatives that benefit Orange County.
“The CareMar center at Hoag will fill a gap we have in our region for comprehensive care in all stages of treatment and recovery,” Todd Pickup said. “Its location on a hospital cam-pus will make sure that clinical safety and access to physicians and medical staff are always available. We are proud to make this investment for a next-level facility for all those in need.”
Hoag said it will augment the $25 million gift with other donations to support the $50 million CareMar project.
“We are immensely grateful to the Martin and Pickup families for their continued in-vestment in Hoag and elevating our community’s health,” Caroline Pereira, president of the Hoag Hospital Foundation, said in a statement. “Their shared objective to help those impacted by substance use will result in a one-of-a-kind center that will serve many.”
Andrew Guarni, Hoag executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the hospital is grateful for the level of support from the Martin and Pickup families over the years.
“It allows us to continue to deliver the high-est quality healthcare to the community.”
