Gift gives Hoag chance to create chair position

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has created a new chair position within the Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute after a $2.3 million endowment for the hospital was announced Tuesday.

The gift came from the Robert S. and Georgia L. Roth Family Foundation to support cardiac care in the facility.

Dr. Dipti Itchhaporia was named to the position, while she also serves as the medical director of disease management. Itchhaporia’s focus will be on multidisciplinary patient care, physician education and research.

Itchhaporia has been at Hoag since 1996 and became the medical director of disease management in 2001.

Hoag’s Heart and Vascular Institute takes in the highest volume of cardiovascular patients in Orange County, according to hospital officials.

— Daniel Tedford