Pacific Shores Medical Group has joined City of Hope in the latest example of City of Hope’s expansion in Orange County. The already-announced Lennar Foundation Cancer Center is scheduled to open next summer, and a specialty hospital is on track for a 2025 opening. With three O.C. locations—in Huntington Beach, Irvine, and Newport Beach—Pacific Shores has been serving the community since 1986.
“We’re growing our family,” says Dr. Edward S. Kim, physician-in-chief at City of Hope Orange County. “Looking at Pacific Shores, their compassion and desire to want to bring trials and quality to the local neighborhoods, the alignment was really spot on.”
The partnership expands the hold City of Hope has here, as envisioned from the start, according to Annette Walker, president of City of Hope Orange County. “We’ve said we’re coming to O.C. to build the Irvine facility and a robust network. Health care is often a local proposition. Having a trusted provider be part of us is more compelling to patients. … It’s more of an elaboration of the story unfolding exactly as we hoped in the beginning.”
Pacific Shores consists of 14 doctors, 11 nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and more than 200 staff members. Its patients will be able to keep their doctors and not add to travel times while gaining access to the research, clinical trials, and expertise at City of Hope.
“It’s always nice to be in the local neighborhood,” Kim says. “We also want to help educate people on what they can do to avoid getting cancer or preventing it. Pacific Shores (offices) are in many diverse communities. How do we educate, what language, which diseases are more prevalent in certain communities? Education, seminars, boots on the ground, and (programs) tailored to each community. We want to really focus on the higher prevalence that may exist in each community. In a diverse area of Orange County, this is particularly important.”
One in three people will have cancer, according to City of Hope officials. “But 100 percent of us are affected by cancer,” Walker says. “There’s not a single person who doesn’t know someone who has had cancer.”
As many as 60 percent of the patients at Pacific Shores are treated in Orange County.
“Take what they bring and what we bring, and it’s pretty powerful,” Walker says. “We’re grateful for the community and what it’s given us in terms of cancer care. It’s a big win for our community.”
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