As Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian prepares to add roughly 1,000 new jobs across the healthcare enterprise, Ron and Sandi Simon are helping ensure current and future staff have a place to live with a $30 million gift for workforce housing.

The timing of the gift announcement coincides with Hoag nearing completion of its $1.2 billion expansion, dubbed the Sun Family Campus, which broke ground in 2023 and is set to fully open in September.

“We’re adding nurses, technicians, essential staff—all of that will boost the Orange County economy,” Caroline Pereira, president of Hoag Hospital Foundation, told the Business Journal. “We’re looking across the country to attract and, frankly, retain the incredible caregiving staff we have here.”

The couple’s nonprofit, RSI Dream Communities, focuses on creating affordable housing for “local heroes,” such as nurses, teachers and first responders.

“It’s almost impossible to afford housing in this area, so this should enable them to provide more affordable housing for their staff,” Ron Simon told the Business Journal.

According to Realtor.com, Orange County’s median home price hovers around $1.3 million, and the median monthly rent is $3,550, making it one of the most expensive places to live in the state outside of Silicon Valley.

Such costs are prompting RSI Dream Communities to double down on its commitment to support essential workers.

Last October, it announced a $25 million donation for City of Hope Orange County to secure land for future housing for more than 740 employees being recruited to work at its recently opened 73-bed hospital—the only one in the region exclusively focused on treating and curing cancer.

A separate $5 million gift from the nonprofit established the endowed chair for the president of City of Hope OC.

Ron and Sandi Simon are well-known philanthropists in Orange County who have contributed more than $100 million to workforce housing and education causes, including full-tuition scholarships for students from lower-income backgrounds.

Providing 1.25M in Stipends Annually

The Simons’ gift is supporting a workforce housing assistance program at Hoag.

One of its first initiatives is to provide approximately $1.25 million annually in housing stipends for eligible employees immediately. In the long term, Hoag said it plans to pursue permanent workforce housing.

“It’s a really strategic investment designed to evolve as our workforce grows,” Pereira said.
A significant part of the gift will support hiring for all of Hoag’s facilities, including the Sun Family Campus, named in honor of David and Diana Sun, who made two $50 million gifts in 2022 and 2025, respectively.

The expansion is adding six new buildings, 155 inpatient beds, 11 operating rooms, two additional procedure rooms and 120,000 square feet of ambulatory facilities to Irvine. The first phase of the project, a surgical pavilion, is opening this summer.

Hoag is also increasing its workforce in Newport and other clinical campuses throughout Orange County, according to Pereira, including San Clemente, where the hospital opened a $20 million health center last July.

“Some of our workforce go between campuses and clinics. This is meant to support all of the caregivers,” Pereira said.

Last year was another successful year for Hoag Hospital Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hoag, said Pereira.

“It was our second highest on record, and I attribute that to our incredible community in Orange County,” she said.

Pereira added that the hospital’s Boldly Hoag campaign is just $50 million away from its $300 million target, which it aims to raise by September, in time for the opening.

Once Hoag closes on the campaign, Pereira said that the foundation will continue to raise funds for research and fellowships.

“We have a lot of milestones ahead of us with some incredible celebratory moments with our community that we’re looking forward to as a foundation,” Pereira said.

Longtime Supporters of Hoag

Ron Simon is known for building and selling three successful businesses, including the world’s largest kitchen and bath manufacturer, RSI Home Products, which he sold for $1.1 billion. In 2024, he established RSI Dream Communities with a mission of providing affordable homes for nurses, teachers and other public servants.

The family foundation’s Simon Scholars program provides scholarships and mentorship to underserved students from the junior year of high school through their early careers. It has given more than $100 million in financial support to high school, college and graduate students to date.

Ron and Sandi Simon have financially supported Hoag for more than a decade.

In 2012, Hoag announced a $6.25 million gift from the Simons for the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, including the creation of a $5 million endowment for the Ron & Sandi Simon Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair that’s currently held by Dr. Adam S. Kanter.

The Pickup Institute, created in 2007 as the first of Hoag’s seven specialty care institutes, has 17 active trials and more than 20 neuroscience programs. Kanter was tapped in 2024 to lead the institute, replacing Dr. Michael Brant-Zawadzki.
The couple also helped establish the Ron & Sandi Simon Research, Innovation and

Education Fund at Hoag, which has strengthened clinical research infrastructure and accelerated the launch of new clinical trials.

“We have been involved in contributing, endowing some chairs at Hoag, and we just have a big passion for that institution,” Ron said.

Their involvement with Hoag was partly spurred by Ron’s own experience as a patient.

“I came here for nothing serious, but got treated like royalty and I thought, ‘My God, this is incredible,’ and that’s the way it’s been since we came to Orange County 30 years ago,” Ron said.

“I just think we are so fortunate to have an institution like that in our backyard.”
Additionally, Ron’s wife, Sandi, served on the hospital foundation’s board for about five years.

The couple initially explored making a matching gift to inspire others to give but decided against it.

“We wanted to get something started quickly because there’s a sense of urgency now, especially with their expansion,” Ron said.