As a child, when Rick Taketa visited his father at work, he didn’t go to a conventional office; he went to Hoag, where Richard Taketa, MD, worked as a radiologist. The elder Dr. Taketa also was a volunteer leader who served on the Hoag Hospital Board of Directors. Over the decades, Hoag took on increasing significance in Rick’s life as a place of both joy and heartache: his siblings were born there; when he was 12, his mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer there, overcoming grave odds to become a three-time survivor; at 16, a Hoag doctor saved his leg from amputation after a serious soccer injury; and Hoag doctors were there for his wife Alexandra during complications following childbirth.
“I had a front row seat for the changes at Hoag,” Rick said, “from a single building on the hill to this robust health system keeping Orange County supported. I can share countless more stories of how this once little community hospital has impacted my life and the lives of so many others.”
Although he didn’t become a health care provider like his father, Rick has had his own positive impact on Hoag, with philanthropic gifts and service. He serves as a member of the Hoag Innovators Advisory Board, which brings together philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and community leaders to catalyze innovation at Hoag, and he is a previous chair and current member of the Hoag Hospital Foundation Board of Directors. Now in his last year on the board, Rick said, “I don’t imagine this is my last year of involvement with Hoag.”
It's also just the beginning of involvement for his teenage daughters Skylar and Sierra. The girls joined Rick and Alexandra as they co-chaired Hoag’s 2024 Christmas Carol Ball and have been some of the youngest attendees at Hoag Innovators meetings.
“We’re trying to instill in them this larger ethic that part of living a good life is giving back to your community but specifically understanding that health care and innovation are critical to a healthy Orange County. I know the experience they’ve had with philanthropy at Hoag will be lasting and impacting for the rest of their lives.”
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