ANNETTE WALKER
PRESIDENT
CITY OF HOPE ORANGE COUNTY
WHY: Last year took the wraps off its state-of-the-art outpatient center for cancer research in Irvine. The 190,000-square-foot Lennar Foundation Cancer Center is the first component to deliver within the company’s $1 billion campus at the Great Park Neighborhoods. “It’s a great story for Orange County,” Walker told the Business Journal during a tour of the facility. “Every piece of equipment is the most advanced available for purchase on the market today. Then you add that to the physicians we have who are super specialists, you’ve got a very advanced center here.”
BY THE NUMBERS: OC was chosen for a new cancer center because about 20% of the area’s 3.2 million residents may need advanced cancer care. Previously, patients would have to drive for hours or even out of state to get the newest treatment available.
FUTURE PLANS: The cancer center held its inauguration on July 27. That same day, City of Hope also held a groundbreaking for a 170,000-square-foot cancer hospital next door, which is scheduled to open in 2025.
IN THEIR WORDS: “Prevention is the new frontier, especially for cancer, which is why City of Hope is developing extensive programs for prevention and early detection. For example, we will be starting a clinical trial in Orange County to develop a simple blood test to detect the earliest signs of cancer. If successful, this test will save lives by catching cancer early when there are more treatment options and will revolutionize cancer screenings.”
