Santa Monica : Cancer Institute Opened

St. John’s Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica this week formally opened its John Wayne Cancer Institute, a new facility for cancer research, treatment and care.

The center, which will include patient-care facilities as well as laboratory space, is named for the late actor, who died of stomach cancer in 1979. Members of Wayne’s family attended the dedication ceremony Monday, which included screening the scene from Wayne’s last film, “The Shootist,” in which his character is told he has cancer.

St. John’s, which will provide inpatient care for the new institute, has committed an initial $15 million to the project, a hospital official said. A 50,000-square-foot facility across the street from St. John’s, on Santa Monica Boulevard, is being renovated to house expanded research facilities, outpatient care areas and offices. The institute is committed to providing an additional $10 million for the project.