The Power of Philanthropy

In fall 2021, Prebys Cancer Center opened on the campus of Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego, thanks to donor support as part of the Here for Good Campaign. The $59 million, 40,000 square-foot center is Scripps’ second regional cancer hub, serving central and southern San Diego.

Before his death in 2016, Conrad Prebys donated $25 million to help fund the facility, as well as endowing the medical director position. He made these gifts because he believed in Scripps and wanted to support San Diego.

The completed center provides patient-centered care, just as Prebys envisioned. From leading-edge radiation therapy technology and infusion services to the expert multidisciplinary care, personalized support services and a comforting environment, Prebys Cancer Center is an innovative, state-of-the-art treatment facility.

Prebys’ legacy of giving also included a $10 million donation in 2006 to support the construction of the Conrad Prebys Emergency and Trauma Center at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego. And in 2011, he made a $45 million donation to build the Prebys Cardiovascular Institute on the campus of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.

“For a century, Scripps’ dedication to compassionate care and innovative practices has made a profound impact on our community,” says Grant Oliphant, CEO of the Prebys Foundation. “Conrad honored this remarkable legacy and hoped for a future filled with continued excellence and collaboration.”

In 1964, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas started as a small, community hospital, taking care of patients from sleepy beach towns. Sixty years later, everything had changed. Explosive growth made coastal North County a major population center, and Scripps Encinitas was bursting at the seams. 

To help expand the hospital and provide the care North County needed, Warner and Debbie Lusardi made a $25 million gift to support the Here for Good Capital Campaign and help fund a new acute care tower and pulmonary institute.

The 224,000-square-foot Lusardi Tower will provide much needed care for the region’s growing population. The tower has 64-private, inpatient rooms, surgical suites, a state-of-the-art intensive care unit and other critical facilities. The surgical units have the latest wireless technologies, digital monitoring, telemedicine and other advanced capabilities.

The Lusardi Pulmonary Institute will provide comprehensive care for respiratory conditions, including early lung cancer detection, minimally invasive biopsies, thoracic surgery and care for people suffering from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sleep-related disorders.

The institute will also focus on pulmonary rehabilitations, which can improve exercise tolerance, reduce office visits and decrease hospital readmissions.

“When I first visited Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, I felt a strong positive energy from the entire staff. This has never changed,” says Warner Lusardi, co-founder of Lusardi Construction. “On behalf of our family and our company, we are fortunate to give back and help Scripps continue to be the best.”  

Bruce Anderson passes through the John R. Anderson V Medical Pavilion, at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla with pride. In 2012, his parents, Eileen and John R. Anderson IV, made a $25 million gift to honor their son, Bruce’s brother, who died of cancer in 2004. The pavilion is a nexus for comprehensive care, providing everything from primary care to advanced imaging, lab work, cardiac procedures and specialty care.

The Andersons are inspired to give because of the quality of care they have received at Scripps. It started in 1985, when John IV came to Scripps from Pasadena for a comprehensive, one-day executive physical. He was so impressed by his caregivers’ quality and efficiency that the family made Scripps their permanent provider. Later, they moved to La Jolla to enjoy the ocean and take better advantage of Scripps’ services.

Bruce Anderson, and his wife, Patty, followed in John and Eileen’s footsteps, both in coming to Scripps as patients and becoming avid supporters. Like his father, Bruce started at Scripps with an executive physical and quickly understood why his parents loved the organization so much. He also realized how important his philanthropy could be to help maintain this level of excellence.

“My parents left their legacy to Scripps, and Patty and I felt the appropriate path was to continue mom and dad’s legacy during our lifetime,” he says. “The quality of health care and dedication of the entire Scripps system is above reproach and worthy of our life’s work investment.

We can touch thousands of people with our support and rest assured it will be invested properly.”

The Here for Good Campaign is underway to fund innovative care, advanced technology and state-of-the-art facilities throughout the health system to make a life-changing difference in the lives of our patients today — and for generations to come.

A new hospital tower at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla will open in spring 2025, featuring 96 medical-surgical and 12 ICU rooms; nine operating rooms and a women’s center. Construction at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas includes the Lusardi Tower, and development on the campus of Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego, continues during the next decade.

Scripps remains mindful that providing excellent care for our community is a team effort. As we look back on Ellen Browning Scripps, Mother Mary Michael Cummings and the many other philanthropists who have given so much to care for San Diego, we continue to be honored by their vision and look forward to meeting the next generation of committed philanthropists.

As you enter the Geisel Pavilion at Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines, there’s a unique statue to your right: the Cat in the Hat, Theodore Geisel’s (Dr. Seuss’) most iconic creation. The statue draws a lot of attention and people stop to take pictures next to it, but there’s a story behind why it’s there.

The Geisels received their health care at Scripps Clinic for decades, and there was mutual affection between the family and the staff. Before marrying Ted, Audrey was a nurse and had a deep respect for caregivers.

After Ted died, Audrey continued to support Scripps Clinic. She made monetary gifts, but she also gave her time and talent. She was particularly focused on graduate medical education and took special interest in the Mohs surgery and dermatologic oncology fellows.

“I trained three fellows each year, and for a number of years she would sign one of Ted's books — Oh, the Places You'll Go — and give them to all the fellows when they graduated,” said Hubert Greenway, MD, who chairs the Bighorn Mohs Surgery and Dermatology Center at Scripps Clinic. “That was really special for me that she would take the time and interest to do that for these young people.”

Audrey had a close circle of friends, but did not relish the limelight. However, she did agree to being honored at the 2008 Renaissance Ball, which supported care at Scripps Clinic and Scripps Green Hospital.

When she passed away in 2018, she named Scripps in her estate plan, providing a $100 million bequest to support critical needs at Scripps Clinic. To honor the Geisels, the site was renamed the Geisel Pavilion and the Cat in the Hat statue was added.

The Geisel Pavilion continues to be a focal point of Scripps Clinic, providing primary care and more than 50 medical and surgical specialties, as well as imaging, lab work and 24/7 urgent care services. The family’s years of generosity have had a decided impact.

“Audrey was a unique person and a close friend,” said Dr. Greenway. “She had her favorite areas in health care — education, hospice, a few others — but she often trusted us to put the money where it was needed most.

I often think about her as I’m walking around the Geisel Pavilion, and it seems to me that she would really proud of the work we do here.”

Ellen Browning Scripps had no children, but her brother E.W. Scripps’ descendants have continued the family’s philanthropic legacy through their own personal giving, and support from the Adam Scripps Foundation, named in honor of the late philanthropist. In 2023, the foundation donated $2.1 million to Scripps.

Adam’s sister and foundation board member, Maggie Scripps Klenzing, has warm feelings for Scripps. Her father was treated at Scripps for challenging pulmonary issues and the family is forever grateful.

“When I need good health care, I know I can come to Scripps,” she says. “Supporting the mission to enhance, heal and save lives truly gives back to those in need, which resonates with our family values and tradition. Scripps has such a stellar reputation in the community, and we need to support its physicians to continue their good work.”  

Charles Scripps supports Scripps through his personal giving.

“It is our family tradition to uphold our ancestors’ legacy of doing so much good in our community,” he says. “It’s also really fun to be involved with philanthropy; it’s a great way to be a part of good outcomes for people.”