Hoag’s excellence in breast care is due in no small part to the generosity of Sue Gross, who has, over the years, supported the expansion of women’s services at Hoag. Recently Gross donated $6 million to Hoag, $5 million of which will go toward the newly renamed Sue J. Gross Comprehensive Breast Center in Newport Beach.
The donation will expand breast care services to aid in the prevention, detection, and treatment of breast cancer.
Already the center is the first and only breast center in Orange County to be designated as a Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence™. This deeply meaningful gift promises to further Hoag’s mission of providing the highest quality care possible to the women of Orange County.
“This latest gift will enable us to continue our pioneering care in breast cancer, a cure for a disease that impacts the lives of millions of women around the world,” said Flynn A. Andrizzi, PhD, president of Hoag Hospital Foundation. “The compassion Sue Gross continues to demonstrate changes – and saves – lives.”
While groundbreaking discoveries have helped to decrease the overall death rate associated with breast cancer, the disease remains the second most fatal illness to women, after lung cancer.
Gross said her latest gift was inspired by her mother and two sisters who battled breast cancer. She is confident that the Sue J. Gross Comprehensive Breast Center will build on its expertise and success to further improve the lives of women in Orange County and beyond.
“My wish is that this contribution will serve as a beacon of hope for all women battling this disease, and also as a reminder that we can never stop advancing the treatments available and the search to finally find a cure,” she said.
In addition to the generous breast center gift, Gross donated $1 million in support of the newly renamed Sally & Joseph Warpinski Wound Healing & Hyberbaric Medicine Center in honor of her brother-in-law, Joseph Warpinski, who suffered a life-threatening wound and received lifesaving care at Hoag. The center was renamed the Sally & Joseph Warpinski Wound Healing & Hyberbaric Medicine Center.
“These wonderful gifts from the Sue J. Gross Foundation are just the latest examples of Sue’s remarkable generosity and lifelong affection for Orange County and her concern for the well-being of its residents,” Andrizzi said. “Her major contribution joins a long list of others she has directed to Hoag and underscores her richly deserved reputation as one of California’s most generous and compassionate philanthropists.”
