Transforming Care: MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center Receives $6 Million Gift from Marilyn V. Adams to Expand Lifesaving Geriatric Emergency Program and Comfort Services

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif., Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center is honored to announce a landmark $6 million gift from the late Marilyn V. Adams, a former Laguna Woods resident and lifelong philanthropist. This extraordinary contribution will support palliative, hospice and geriatric emergency care, ensuring quality, compassionate care for patients who are seniors in need of emergent care or who have life-limiting illness—two vulnerable populations often overlooked.

"Marilyn was a truly remarkable woman—quietly generous, deeply compassionate, and always thinking of others," said Maureen Burt, trustee for Marilyn V. Adams. "She believed in supporting those who were most vulnerable, from children to seniors, to those facing end of life. Her gift to Saddleback Medical Center reflects that vision. It's an honor to help carry forward her legacy, knowing that her kindness will continue to touch so many lives in our community."

To honor Adams' extraordinary generosity, Saddleback Medical Center will dedicate two essential initiatives in her name: the Marilyn V. Adams Geriatric Emergency Program and the Marilyn V. Adams Comfort Care Fund. This recognition ensures her legacy will be forever linked to the compassionate care provided to older adults and those in need of comfort care near or toward the end of life.

"We're so grateful that Marilyn entrusted Saddleback Medical Center to fulfill her legacy and expand care in our community," said Christy Ward, president, MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center Foundation. "Her remarkable gift allows us to embrace those facing vulnerability or illness with greater comfort, dignity, and compassion. We carry her spirit with us in every act of care, and her legacy will continue to lift and touch lives for years to come."

The Geriatric Emergency Program at Saddleback Medical Center provides specialized, 24/7 emergency care tailored to the unique needs of older adults. Staffed by physicians and nurses trained in geriatric medicine, the program ensures rapid assessment and treatment of age-related conditions such as falls, confusion, infections, and chronic disease complications. With a focus on safety, comfort, and dignity, the program is designed to improve outcomes and enhance the emergency care experience for seniors and their families.

Comfort Care, more well known as palliative and hospice care, at Saddleback Medical Center focuses on providing comfort, dignity and quality of life for patients with serious, chronic or life-limiting illnesses. Palliative care is delivered alongside curative treatment, providing relief from symptoms, pain and stress while supporting patients and their families as they navigate complex medical decisions. As patients' needs change and the focus shifts from treatment to end-of-life care, hospice care offers continued medical, emotional and spiritual support. The dedicated hospice team helps patients and their loved ones find peace and compassion during their final moments, ensuring their journey is met with understanding and respect.

"By helping us continue to serve some of our most vulnerable patients, while keeping Saddleback Medical Center's mission of serving everyone in our community with quality, and compassionate health care top of mind—you can see Marilyn really found a way to thread that needle by solidifying and expanding these programs for years to come," said Shela Kaneshiro, chief executive officer, MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center. "Both programs—geriatric emergency and comfort care—really focus on the dignity of our patients, while ensuring quality, compassionate care is delivered. The focus of this gift is squarely centered around the patient."

Adams' transformative gift was made possible through her thoughtful estate planning entrusted to the Saddleback Medical Center Foundation. This contribution underscores her enduring commitment to advancing compassionate care for the community's most vulnerable. For more information, visit memorialcare.org/smcf.

About MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center
MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, part of MemorialCare, a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system, has served South Orange County for over fifty years. It is recognized for excellence in cancer, heart, orthopedics, women's health, maternity care and minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgery. It is a STEMI receiving center for stroke and heart attacks, holds a Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation and is a certified Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center. Saddleback Medical Center is the only Orange County hospital to centralize women's specialty care under one roof at the Women's Health Pavilion. Saddleback Medical Center is nationally recognized for maternity care by U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek; named one of Healthgrades America's 250 Best Hospitals; and ranked as a top hospital in the Los Angeles Metro area by U.S. News & World Report. Visit memorialcare.org/saddleback.

SOURCE MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center