Hoag Hospital officials are announcing plans for a center at the Newport Beach campus that will “pioneer new, whole family-centered approaches to brain health and healthy aging.”
A “transformational” $50 million gift from Newport Beach philanthropist Richard Pickup is helping establish the center, which will not only work on research and to improve gaps in care for memory and cognitive disorders, but also create programs for patients’ family members who are also impacted by the effects of the often devastating diseases.
Pickup, who turns 90 next month, has directed several donations over the years toward advancing care for those dealing with dementia-related diseases. The Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, a Hoag program that offers neurologic care and treatment, was established in 2017 after a $15 million donation. This new gift will create the Richard H. Pickup Center for Brain Health.
“We really need to change the model of how we do care for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Hoag realizes, and our community realizes, that the way we’ve done things is just not going to cut it,” said Aaron Ritter, director of the Memory and Cognitive Disorders Program at the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute.
“The idea is getting in front of this, doing things now and creating a model and programs that can actually help alleviate the suffering that comes with the disease, and also advancing new therapies and treatments that follow what we’ve done with cardiac care and diabetes care,” Ritter said. “It’s a huge change.”
Along with creating the new space on the hospital grounds, the $50 million gift will also go toward supportive programs for patients and their families with a focus on screenings, early detection and advancing technology, Hoag officials said.
Because care needs to go beyond patient treatment, Ritter said. Family members and loved ones often shoulder the burden and costs of care.
“It’s a family disease, so…
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