Member of the Month Archive

City of Hope Completes Irvine Land, Office Buy

Friday, May 29, 2020

(Orange County Business Journal) City of Hope’s plans for building a comprehensive cancer center at Irvine’s Great Park Neighborhoods took a big step forward after it completed the acquisition of property at the city’s FivePoint Gateway office campus. City of Hope, a research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases with its main campus in Duarte, bought a 190,000 square foot, four-story building at the Irvine site, and 11 acres of adjacent land. A deal had been in the works for over a year. The final price comes out to $108 million, according to Irvine’s FivePoint Holdings LLC, the maste...

Orange County is Built for Resilience

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

By Bryan Starr, President & CEO, Greater Irvine Chamber | Published in the May 25 issue of the Orange County Business Journal By many estimates, California is better positioned for economic recovery as we emerge from the Coronavirus crisis than any other state in the nation. While the state isn’t quite yet out of the woods, Orange County itself is ready to open. Monitoring trend lines of the disease to determine when and how to reopen business is a smart strategy. How we will fare is not purely a numbers game, however. Where the Golden State really shines—always, but particularly in times of crisis—i...

Hospitals Reopening for Non-COVID-19 Work

Friday, May 22, 2020

(OC Business Journal) Orange County’s hospitals are returning to normal, in phases, as a feared surge of Coronavirus patients has not occurred. “UCI Health is fully operational and providing all levels of care in a safe environment for patients and staff,” Chad Lefteris, CEO, UCI Health, told the Business Journal. OC hospitals are a huge industry unto themselves. According to the Business Journal’s annual list, 31 facilities reported $9.1 billion in net patient revenue for the 12 months ended Sept. 30. That amounted to about $758 million a month. Last year, they handled 1.37 million patient days and 3.7 million outpatient visits. The hospitals, which hav...

Orange County Names New Health Care Agency Head

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

(Orange County Register) Dr. Clayton Chau, who previously spent more than a decade in the Orange County Health Care Agency’s behavioral health division, has been named the agency’s new director. The county announced the selection of Chau on Monday, April 27 – about a month after the position opened up when Richard Sanchez left it to head CalOptima, which provides health insurance to the county’s low-income residents. “Dr. Chau brings a wealth of experience to HCA, particularly within the realm of behavioral health. I look forward to working with him on tackling our greatest healthcare issues,” county CEO Frank Kim said in ...

Science Provides Hope for COVID-19

Thursday, April 23, 2020

(CalChamber) In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg, and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Science and Regulatory Advocacy Richard Moscicki, M.D., discuss how increased testing, medical treatments and vaccines can provide short-, middle- and long-term solutions to battling the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and reopening the economy. Below is a condensed summary of the podcast. To hear the full discussion of each topic, visit the time stamps noted in the article below. Short-Term Solution: Testing (Time Discussed: 03:30) The answer to the question of how the economy can effectivel...

Irvine Teen Creates COVID-19 Donation Clearinghouse Website

Monday, April 13, 2020

Like a lot of seniors in Irvine high schools, Jackie Ni should be looking forward to prom and graduation right now, but because of stay-in-place orders, that's not happening. Instead, he's using his time for homeschooling and combating COVID-19, “one crate at a time.” In just a few short weeks, the Sage Hill High School senior has developed a website, supplycrate.org, that offers a transparent and efficient way for individuals and organizations to make medical supply donations. So far, through his website, more than 136,000 masks, from medical-grade N95's to fabric face coverings, have been collected. While there are websites that match donor...

UCI Beall Applied Innovation Invites Community to Share COVID-19 Response Ideas

Monday, April 06, 2020

UCI Beall Applied Innovation has issued an invitation to the UCI community to share their ideas for the fight against COVID-19. “We are in the midst of a pandemic and we know that there is an entrepreneur, industry collaborator, faculty researcher, student innovator, or funding partner that has developed an idea or prototype or concept that might play a role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 or curing those ailing because of it,” said Executive Officer Richard Sudek. Contact one of UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s experts below with your startup, product idea, or resource need related to COVID-19. Whether you’re an individual...

UCI Health Names Chad Lefteris as New CEO

Monday, April 06, 2020

The UC Irvine health system has named Chad Lefteris as its new chief executive. Lefteris will oversee the overall UCI Health operation, which includes UCI Medical Center in Orange and more than a dozen outpatient research and specialty care centers throughout Orange County and parts of Riverside County. He has been UCI Health’s chief operating officer since December 2018. His appointment as CEO comes amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. UCI announced that it is participating in a clinical trial to test the antiviral drug remdesivir as a potential treatment for COVID-19. “After a nationwide search, the search committee identified the ideal candidate within ou...

UCI Tech Can Provide Better Understanding of COVID-19 and Vaccine Possibilities Making Waves

Thursday, April 02, 2020

In the last several weeks, California has become one of the top U.S. states to be affected by COVID-19. The infectious disease has plagued not only the state population’s physical health, but also the economy, jobs and the social life of millions. The lack of diagnostics has been cited as one of the main reasons for the spread of the virus. In UC Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine’s Institute for Immunology, Phil Felgner, director of the Vaccine R&D Center, and his Protein Microarray Laboratory team work tirelessly to develop their COVID-19 Coronavirus Antigen Microarray that detects antibodies against coronavirus-infected people. H...

Trump Issues Major Disaster Declaration for California as Coronavirus Pandemic Intensifies

Monday, March 23, 2020

President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration for California on Sunday to help the state handle the economic and health consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The declaration will provide additional aid to the state, including food assistance and more financial help for people who have lost work or faced business losses because of the outbreak. It came hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to Trump requesting the action. Among other provisions, the declaration will allow people like business owners who do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance to apply for disaster unemployment insurance. Trump also approved Newsom’s earlier reques...

UCI Researchers Will Test Former Ebola Drug as Part of Coronavirus Clinical Trial

Monday, March 23, 2020

Everybody is hoping for a miracle drug to treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the infectious novel coronavirus. Now, researchers at UC Irvine have a shot at helping to find it. As part of a national clinical trial, the Orange County team of medical scientists are authorized to use the anti-viral drug remdesivir — once developed to treat the Ebola virus — on certain COVID-19 patients hospitalized at UCI Medical Center in Orange. The study’s goal, over an unspecified period of time, will be to determine the drug’s effectiveness against a disease that has already killed more than 11,000 people. The research i...

Trump Signs Coronavirus Aid Package with Paid Sick Leave, Free Testing

Friday, March 20, 2020

President Trump on Wednesday signed into law a multibillion-dollar emergency aid package aimed at helping Americans impacted by the coronavirus. The House-passed measure was approved by the Senate earlier Wednesday and includes provisions offering paid leave benefits for Americans, bolstered unemployment benefits, and free diagnostic testing for the virus. “The [Families First Coronavirus Response Act] makes emergency supplemental appropriations and other changes to law to help the Nation respond to the coronavirus outbreak,” Trump said in a statement Wednesday evening announcing he had signed the bill. The bipartisan bill, which is the product of days of negotiations last week between Treasury Secretary Steve...

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will work directly with state Governors to provide targeted, low-interest loans to small businesses and nonprofits that have been severely impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. Guidance for Businesses and Employers The President's Coronavirus Guidelines for America - 15 Days to Slow the Spread The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers the mos...

Hoag Named One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2020 by Healthgrades

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has once again been recognized by Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals™ for 2020. Hoag has received this designation for nine consecutive years – 2012-2020 – and remains the only Orange County hospital in the Top 50 and Top 100. “As one of the top hospitals in the nation for clinical excellence, Hoag is honored to be recognized by Healthgrades,” said Robert T. Braithwaite, president and CEO, Hoag. “We are committed to our patients and providing a level of personalized care that is unsurpassed in Orange County.” Healthgrades selected its list of top performing hospitals for exhibiting clinical excellence across a rang...

Innovation Drives Orange County’s World-Renowned Cancer Care and Healthcare

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

By Bryan Starr, President and CEO, Greater Irvine Chamber Innovation is the key to Orange County’s exceptional healthcare and is what sets our healthcare and its delivery far apart from other parts of the nation and the world. Patients accessing healthcare in Irvine, from routine maintenance to advanced disease treatment, receive top care delivered by some of the world’s most expert practitioners using the latest science and technology. The following are some of the ways Greater Irvine Chamber-partner healthcare institutions are at the leading edge of medical research and patient care in Irvine and Orange County. Cancer Care City of Hope, named the bes...

UC Irvine Set to Start Construction on $185-Million Health Sciences Complex

Monday, February 24, 2020

UC Irvine will begin construction this month on a state-of-the-art 9-acre health sciences complex for integrative patient care, training, and research. The initial work will be site preparation, with groundbreaking expected later this year, probably in the fall, according to university spokesman Tom Vasich. The site — on the corner of Bison and California avenues adjacent to the UCI Research Park — will include a five-level, 108,200-square-foot building for the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences and an adjoining four-level, 71,500-square-foot building for the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing. The health sciences building will house the Susan Samuel...

MemorialCare Acquires Irvine Family Practice Medical Group

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

MemorialCare, the largest nonprofit healthcare system headquartered in Orange County, acquired Irvine Family Practice Medical Group, a prominent group of physicians serving 25,000 patients in its expansive health center in Irvine. In addition to the medical group's board-certified family and internal medicine physicians, nurses, and other clinicians and support staff caring for all ages—from children through older adults—the newly named MemorialCare Medical Group offers the convenience of an onsite Urgent Care Center. Open every day, 8 a.m. – 9 p.m., MemorialCare Medical Group Urgent Care Center (formerly Irvine Walk-In) treats patients with a variety of medical issues, supplementing the family medicin...

UK Lifescience Company ForteMedical Expands to Irvine and Its Innovative Product Makes Appearance at the Oscars

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

The U.K.-based life science company ForteMedical has expanded to the U.S., establishing a satellite office in Irvine. The decision was aided by the Greater Irvine Chamber’s Foreign Direct Investment work in the U.K. and its Irvine Gateway soft-landing program, which helps expanding companies choose Irvine and transition to the city easily. “ForteMedical embarked on a mission to Irvine hoping that we would find not only enthusiasm for our work, but support, contacts, and avenues into launching our HealthTech into the U.S. We have not been disappointed. The Chamber’s Irvine Gateway team is indefatigable, prescient, and kind. What more could we hav...

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