Joe C. Wen and family donate $20 million to support new UCI Health Center for Advanced Care

Generous gift names first of three buildings to open at UCI Health — Irvine complex

"My family members and I are honored and humbled to be able to help,” Joe C. Wen said of his family's $20 million naming gift for the UCI Health Center for Advanced Care, which will bring advanced specialty care to coastal and south Orange County in 2023. Artist's rendering / UCI

Irvine, Calif. — Supported by a $20 million gift from Joe C. Wen and his family, the UCI Health outpatient clinical facility at the new UCI Health — Irvine complex will bring specialty clinical expertise closer to coastal and south Orange County residents on the UCI campus.

“The Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care at UCI Health — Irvine will play a special role in the life of south Orange County because of our unique ability to marshal all the resources of a comprehensive research university in support of delivering the best and most up-to-date care,” said UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman.

“We are very grateful for the Wen family’s remarkable gift, which advances our belief that human health and well-being require a science-based approach that engages all disciplines in caring for the whole person and community.”

Approved by the University of California Board of Regents in August 2020, the five-story, 168,000-square-foot outpatient facility on Jamboree Road will offer adult and pediatric specialty care, urgent care, digestive health, neurosciences and comprehensive laboratory and radiology imaging services in one convenient location. An outdoor garden and café will enhance the patient and visitor experience.

“UCI Health transforms lives everyday thanks to its leading-edge academic research, advanced medical facilities, and — most importantly — passionate and top-notch medical professionals,” said Wen, founder and chief executive of Sakura Paper, Inc., a division of Formosa Ltd. “There’s no doubt that the new medical center in Irvine will have a tremendously positive impact on the community. My family members and I are honored and humbled to be able to help.”

This is the largest gift to UCI Health by a donor under age 50 and is among the largest-ever gifts to UCI.

Children and adults will benefit from one-stop outpatient healthcare. The Center for Children’s Health will consolidate primary and specialty pediatric services in one easily accessible facility and offer unparalleled continuity of care from birth through early adulthood. The children’s center will provide specialty care with an emphasis on diagnosing and treating chronic conditions.

The building also will be the new home of the Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders, providing hope and help to individuals living with autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

“UCI Health is deeply grateful for the friendship and generosity of the Wen family,” said Steve A.N. Goldstein, MD, PhD, UCI vice chancellor for health affairs. “Their support allows us to expand our delivery of world-class care to more patients in Orange County and to continue to lead the nation through lifesaving research and clinical innovations that fulfill the long-standing UCI commitment to improve the lives of individuals and communities.”

The $1.3 billion UCI Health — Irvine complex adjacent to UCI and the new health sciences campus comprises one of the largest investments in patient care services in California. In addition to the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care, the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care Center is scheduled to open in late 2023. A 144-bed acute-care hospital with an emergency department will open in 2025.

“UCI Health is building Orange County’s next chapter of healthcare in Irvine,” said UCI Health CEO Chad T. Lefteris. “The Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care will provide residents of coastal and southern Orange County access to the comprehensive care in critical clinical specialties that are only available from an academic health system.”

UCI Health continues to expand access to care across new locations, including opening primary and specialty outpatient centers in Irvine, Newport Beach, Laguna Hills and Costa Mesa.

Joe C. Wen immigrated to the United States from Taiwan as a teenager. The family’s early years in America were difficult. Wen’s parents worked blue-collar jobs to support the family, and Joe worked through graduate school in order to pay his tuition and help his parents. After earning a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and an MBA from the University of Southern California, Wen started a paper trading company. Today, his business, Formosa Ltd., has grown into a multinational conglomerate. Wen is grateful to his parents, who sacrificed everything they had in Taiwan in order to move to the United States to provide a better life for their children. The example of his parents — who taught him that he should give back to the community whenever he could, and that success can only be achieved through dedication and hard work — both inspired this gift and made it possible.

Formosa Ltd., founded by Joe C. Wen, is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Taiwan and renowned for its five core businesses: venture capital, financial lending, real estate holding and development, property management and forest-products manufacturing and trading. Formosa, which has a history of identifying and seizing business opportunities, is committed to improving every day and supporting its clients in every way.

UCI Health is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine, and the only academic health system in Orange County. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its flagship campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, Calif. The 459-bed, acute-care hospital, listed among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for 21 consecutive years, provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.

Contact:

John Murray
Assistant Director, Communications
UCI Health
310-433-8809
jdmurray@hs.uci.edu