Clinical Research
Hoag has established an outstanding reputation for providing quality healthcare.
This is in large part due to its commitment to existing guidelines and
bringing innovative technologies and advanced treatment options, including
groundbreaking clinical research. Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute
supports this commitment by participating in multiple clinical trials,
which are listed in the appendix.
Learn more about current
Neurosciences Clinical Trials.
Philanthropy
Philanthropy is the platform for Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute’s
continuing growth and innovation. It allows us to dream big and do things
that most other hospitals cannot. Many of the programs and services highlighted
in this report were launched or are sustained by our community’s
generosity. With equal gratitude to every donor who has supported the
Institute, we are pleased to recognize examples of gifts that made a particularly
significant impact in 2018.
Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute
In 2017, Richard Pickup and his family committed a transformative $15 million
gift, among the largest in Hoag’s history, renaming the Institute
to Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute. The funds have propelled the
growth of the Orange County Vital Brain Aging Program (OCVBAP) through
the acquisition of an informatics platform that facilitates testing for
early detection of memory and cognitive impairment and fosters research
as well as appropriate intervention for patients found to be impaired.
The gift carries the added benefit of increased visibility for the Institute,
which has positioned leadership to recruit some of the best and brightest
new physicians in needed specialties.

Endowed Chairs
An endowed chair is among the most strategic gifts to a medical center
and a critical tool that honors and recognizes superior distinction among
our physicians, providing invaluable financial support for the chair holder
for use in dis cretionary research and program development.
The Ron & Sandi Simon Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair, Neurosciences
facilitated the accelerated growth and national recognition of Pickup
Family Neurosciences Institute.
Additionally, the Judy & Richard Voltmer Endowed Chair in Memory and
Cognitive Disorders helped with the expansion of services and integration
of cognitive health care in primary care settings through the Orange County
Vital Brain Aging Program.
Nancy and Bill Thompson Support Epilepsy Care for the Underserved
Thanks to a generous $1 million gift from longtime Hoag donors, Nancy and
Bill Thompson, the Hoag Epilepsy Program is now providing specialized
epilepsy care for the uninsured, underinsured and unfunded through a partnership
with the Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange. The gift supports expert care
at the Clinic provided by David Millett, M.D., Ph.D., director of Hoag’s
Epilepsy Program and the program’s nurse navigator.
John Curci Commits Seed Funding for New Neuropathy Services
John Curci’s visionary gift is laying the groundwork for the development
of a Chronic Pain and Neuropathy Center at Pickup Family Neurosciences
Institute. Plans are currently underway for this critical resource that
will provide patients who have various types of neuropathy with education
and the resources to manage their condition while optimizing quality of life.
Marilyn and Bill Robbins Provide Enduring Support for the Orange County
Vital Brain Aging Program
OCVBAP is entirely supported by philanthropy. Inspired by the impact of
the program thus far, Bill and Marilyn Robbins established an endowment
that will provide a source of sustainable funding for OCVBAP in perpetuity.
Fudge Family Acute Rehabilitation Center
Thanks to forward-thinking Hoag donor, Gary Fudge, the Fudge Family Acute
Rehabilitation Center opened in June 2018, creating a streamlined continuum
of care for patients. Prior to the Center’s opening, patients had
to leave Hoag for residential post-acute rehab. Now, a patient’s
acute care physician can continue to monitor and check on progress during
rehabilitation at Hoag, while the patient works with a comprehensive team
of rehabilitative specialists in a homelike environment with advanced
technology.