Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital received a $100,000 donation from East Los Angeles boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya this week, which will help fund care and support for children born with cleft palate.
The Adventist Health White Memorial Cleft Palate Program covers plastic surgery, dental care and speech therapy for children with the condition, which causes an opening in the roof of the mouth. About 2,650 babies each year are born with cleft palate in the United States.
“For decades, White Memorial had provided high-quality healthcare to a population in need, and through this donation, kids born with a cleft [palate] will have a real chance at living a better life,” De La Hoya said in a press release announcing the donation.
De La Hoya, who was born in East Los Angeles, won multiple world titles during his career as a professional boxer 1992 to 2008, including a gold medal for the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Since retiring, he has worked as a boxing and mixed martial arts promoter, and is considering a run for president in 2020 against Donald Trump, according to the Los Angeles Times.
He has been a prolific donor for the Adventist Health White Memorial, where several departments are named in his honor, including the Cecilia Gonzalez De La Hoya Cancer Center, the Óscar De La Hoya Labor & Delivery Center and the Óscar De La Hoya Neonatal Intensive Care Center. Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital is a faith-based, nonprofit treatment center located on Cesar Chavez Avenue in Boyle Heights.
A local educational center, Óscar de la Hoya Ánimo Charter High School, is also named after the former boxer.
Photo: Oscar De La Hoya in 2014. Credit to the Salvation Army West via Flickr.
