Naming of the Chan Soon-Shiong Center for Life Sciences, comments by Lou Lazatin, president and CEO of Saint John’s Health Center.
Good morning everyone! This is a very special day for Saint John’s. Thirteen years ago, the Northridge Earthquake rumbled through the ground that we are standing on and, quite literally, tore this hospital apart.
“How many of you were here on the day of the Earthquake?”
Those of you here on that fateful day, we thank you and we salute you (pause and applaud) you were truly heroes in your efforts to ensure that all patients and staff remained safe.
As you remember, Saint John’s was forced to close for several months and our physicians, nurses and staff were scattered at other area hospitals to earn a livelihood. What is truly remarkable to me, is that all of you wanted to return when we reopened – and that is a testament to your love and appreciation for Saint John’s uniquely compassionate, healing ministry.
I know that for the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, our esteemed doctors, nurses, staff, directors, trustees and volunteers, January 17, 1994 is a day forever etched in their memories. But God is good in providing strength and kindling hope in the darkest hours.
Hope was the burning fervor that inspired Sister Marie Madeleine and a courageous Board of Directors and Trustees to mount an unprecedented community-wide campaign to completely rebuild Saint John’s Health Center. And Hope is what our entire health care team provides to our patients each and every day.
And there is Hope today -- on yet another January 17th. Today, there is a different kind of temblor rocking Saint John’s. Two extraordinary individuals, Michele B. Chan and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong are the epicenter of this new tremor -- and it is a seismic event of change that we wholeheartedly welcome. Instead of tearing down, their quake is building up – to be sure, they are turning our world around, but we love the ride!
I am delighted to introduce you to this remarkable couple - and to their beautiful children, Nika and Luke, who are also with us today. Many of their friends and family are here as well, and all of us who are part of the Saint John’s family are pleased to welcome you on this auspicious occasion.
Over the course of the last few months, Patrick, Michele and I have come to know each other well, sharing stories of science, medicine, personal experiences and the vision and passion for doing good for patients and the community. On quiet cat-like feet and with the most humble demeanor -- is how Patrick and Michele have introduced themselves to me. They really are messengers of great Hope. Hope comes softly, but with great strength. It makes no grand displays, but changes everything.
Michele and Patrick were raised in South Africa. They both hold degrees from the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg. Michele is an accomplished actress, who achieved acclaim for her roles in the 1980’s television shows: Danger Bay, Hotel, and MacGyver. As a young wife, Michele provided financial support to their household when Patrick was just starting as a young scientist.
Patrick earned his medical degree at age 23 and he went on to earn a masters degree from the University of British Columbia. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American College of Surgeons.
When Patrick joined the UCLA faculty, he launched research that lead to the first human islet cell transplant. A man of enormous energy and vision, he decided to leave full time academics, and with Michele’s encouragement and support, founded a private development laboratory, his first start up company. He went on to found American Pharmaceutical Partners and developed “Abraxane,” the first anti-cancer drug on the market engineered through nanotechnology. It wraps one of the best known cancer fighter - paclitaxel inside particles of blood protein thousands of times smaller than a speck of dust. Abraxan has proven to be more effective with lesser toxic side effects. Patrick took the company public which has resulted in placing him on an illustrious roster of business leaders in the Forbes 100.
Despite his extraordinary success in business, Patrick continues to be grounded to his first calling – being a physician who loves the art of healing and the privilege of treating patients. By way of example, Patrick’s company, Abraxis BioScience, has a patient assistance program that provides eligible cancer patients with Abraxane treatment at no cost.
As Abbott Brown has shared with you, Patrick, Michele and their family have made two pledges totaling $35 million dollars to Saint John’s. Their first grant of $25 million will help us complete our hospital. Although many of you have watched the construction activity in building the Howard B. Keck Diagnostic and Treatment Center, you may not be aware that we will also be renovating the inpatient pavilion to add additional beds. This generous gift will help us complete this critical task of increasing our bed capacity.
This is the largest philanthropic gift from any individual that Saint John’s has ever received. As with the grant from the William Keck Foundation honoring the late Howard Keck – a grant that enabled Sister Marie Madeleine to begin this journey, we are honored to name one of our premier facilities - our magnificent inpatient pavilion - the Chan Soon-Shiong Center for Life Sciences.
Patrick and Michele’s second grant of an additional $10 million will enable us to continue Saint John’s journey of transformation. This grant will allow us to start the development of our Master Site Plan and seek permission from the City of Santa Monica to develop our entire campus – including considerable acreage south of Santa Monica Boulevard between 20th and 23rd streets.
This second gift will enable us to realize our shared vision of creating a comprehensive Translational Sciences Center. This is a vision that began with Sister Marie Madeline and the John Wayne Cancer Institute and has been embraced and expanded upon by Patrick and Michele.
Together, Patrick, Michele and I have agreed to commit personal time, guidance, advice, and active participation to reach our common goal of creating a model for translational medicine that is unsurpassed, which will bring the best of science and medicine to the patient’s bedside.
Within this decade, we will successfully unite the North and South campuses of Saint John’s. The Chan Soon-Shiong Life Sciences Center that we are naming today will be united with a research center that is unparalleled in scope and vision. Saint John’s will be known as a health science center that rapidly translates innovation from the scientist’s laboratory to the patient’s bedside. It will unite its healing ministry of providing compassionate care to the whole person with today’s medical imperative of rapidly translating discoveries in science.
Michele, I know that this vision is especially important to you. I am deeply grateful to you for entrusting your family’s care to us. Your partnership and unwavering support of Patrick is truly inspiring. Your deep commitment to Saint John’s Catholic healing ministry and your special interest in women’s health, complementary and alternative medicine, and neuroscience will inspire us to strive in new and important directions to better serve our community. You can be assured that values are shared by all of us present here today, and that we will strive with you to build a health campus that not only leads in discovery and innovation, but fully embraces a continuum of care for the whole person – mind body and spirit.
Today we are honoring Patrick and Michele for the new Hope they are bringing to Saint John’s through their vision, generosity and personal involvement. They, along with their children have started a family legacy of philanthropy with these magnanimous gifts. We are humbled by your generosity and deeply grateful to you for being at the epicenter of Change. In turn, you can be assured that we will strive to be worthy of your trust and your inspiration. With your help, we will build an innovative new model for delivery of community health that will become a beacon of Hope for patients and their families who come here for care.
Let us all please give a round of applause to the Chan Soon-Shiong family to express our appreciation.
Now, please welcome Carl McKinzie, our chairman of the board who will formally announce the naming of the Chan Soon-Shiong Center for Life Sciences.
Click here to read more about the Chan Soon-Shiong Center for Life Sciences.