ORANGE COUNTY: Large Donations Boost Local Hospital, Medical School
Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills Wednesday received the "single largest personal donation to an Orange County private hospital" -- $10 million -- to build a $20 million critical care center. Benefactors Louise and William Meiklejohn said they became concerned about emergency care two years ago, when a trip to the emergency room for Louise revealed "[p]atients lined [along] the hallways on gurneys waiting for rooms." The couple has contributed $22 million to the hospital over the past decade, including the $2 million that helped kick off the campaign to build the facility (Saar, Orange County Register, 3/2). The UC-Irvine College of Medicine also received a funding boost Wednesday, thanks to a $5 million donation from retired engineer George Hewitt. The contribution will help fund the Dottie and George Hewitt Biomedical Research Center, a $24 million facility that will focus on neuroscience, cancer, immunology and infectious diseases (Saar, Orange County Register, 3/2).
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