During its second annual black-tie Excellence in Healthcare Gala, held on Jan. 11 at the Hilton Irvine, the Greater Irvine Chamber recognized outstanding healthcare, MedTech, and life science organizations, executives, practitioners, and other innovative industry leaders who continue to serve and make advancements in the region’s formidable healthcare sector.
Meet the honorees:
HEALTH SYSTEM OF THE YEAR
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
- Marcy Brown, Senior Vice President & Chief Operations Officer, Hoag
HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS OF THE YEAR
- Dr. Jose Abdenur, Division Chief of Metabolic Disorders & Director of the Metabolic Laboratory, CHOC Children’s Hospital
- Dr. Melissa Mondala, President, Dr. Lifestyle Clinic
HEALTHCARE ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR
- Melissa Scharfe, Nursing Lab Manager, Concordia University Irvine
HEALTHCARE INNOVATORS OF THE YEAR
- Dr. Janeen Hill, Founding Dean, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University
- Dr. Susan Huang, Chancellor’s Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine; Medical Director, Epidemiology and Infection Prevention, UCI Health
WELLNESS PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
HEALTHCARE INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
MEDTECH ORGANIZATIONS OF THE YEAR
HEALTHCARE COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
COMMUNITY OUTREACH OF THE YEAR
HEALTHCARE VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR
- Todd and Diane Kennedy, Volunteers, City of Hope Orange County
Top Orange County companies joining MemorialCare in presenting the Greater Irvine Chamber’s second annual Excellence in Healthcare Gala were Champagne Reception Sponsor Chapman University, Dessert Sponsor Hoag Health, Corporate Sponsor UCI Health, Business Sponsors CathWorks and City of Hope Orange County, Marketing Partner DeviceAlliance, and Table Sponsors Allergan, Be Well OC, Choc Metabolics, Choc Research, Concordia University Irvine, Kaiser Permanente, and University California, Irvine.
Kathryn Hamel, Ph.D., vice president of Mobile Operations at Be Well OC, moderated a discussion on the patient-centric business of healthcare and Irvine’s status as one of the nation’s fastest-growing and most prominent hubs in this sector, with industry experts Elizabeth Acord, vice president, Clinical Integration – Oncology at MemorialCare, and Sesha Neervannan, Ph.D., COO, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the silent auction held during the Gala benefit the Irvine Forward Foundation, the Chamber’s nonprofit that supports educational achievement and career readiness in Irvine through scholarships and community engagement.
