Gift to O.C. Hospital Sets a Record

An elderly Laguna Woods couple whose charity to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center began with a $90 contribution 33 years ago has given the hospital its largest contribution ever: $50 million.

“We’re very excited,” Jennifer Lefebvre, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit hospital’s funding foundation, said of the gift from Bill and Louise Meiklejohn, both 85.

“We rely [greatly] on philanthropy. This is extraordinary.”

The money, she said, would be used as part of the $190 million the hospital planned to spend over the next 10 years to upgrade the Laguna Hills facility with new and expanded operating rooms, new imaging and cardiology services, and an improved parking structure.

The Meiklejohns inherited most of their money from Bill’s father, who was a major stockholder in UPS.

They have donated about $86 million to the Saddleback Memorial Foundation over the years, according to Lefebvre, including $2.2 million in 1994 to help create the Meiklejohn Radiation Oncology Center and $18 million in 2000 for the Meiklejohn Critical Care Pavilion, with a 17,062-square-foot emergency center and 15,156-square-foot intensive care unit.

“It is our hope that the contributions we have made over the years will encourage others to give back to the community,” Bill Meiklejohn said in a statement that was released by the hospital.