Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag has received a $50 million gift that will establish the Richard H. Pickup Center for Brain Health.
The donation will help attract national experts, create endowed chairs and train the next generation of specialists.
The brain health center will prioritize a whole-family approach to prevention, early detection and care for cognitive impairment and mental health disorders, including consideration for the ways in which these disorders affect overall physical health, erode quality of life and increase costs for patients and their families.
"There has been progress in treatments of heart disease and cancer, but the medical community as a whole hasn't made the same degree of improvements in treating brain related issues," Aaron Ritter, MD, director of the Memory & Cognitive Disorders Program in Hoag’s Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, said. "The concept of approaching the brain from multiple angles and multiple approaches is innovative. We have a unique position at Hoag, with the support and resources from the community, to take a multifaceted approach to brain issues."
Philanthropist Richard Pickup has provided several gifts to Hoag, including a $15 million gift naming the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute in 2017.