May 22, 2014 07:19 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Pauline Foster - philanthropist and longtime benefactor of the University of California, San Diego - has made a gift of $7.5 million to support the construction of a new cancer care hospital at the Jacobs Medical Center.

"I felt that the best thing I could do would be to make sure that other people had beds and had the opportunity to have the kind of care that would help and hopefully cure them," said Foster, whose husband and brother died of cancer, in a statement,.

Foster served as a trustee and chair of the UC San Diego Foundation from 2002 to 2010.

The 108-bed hospital will be named "The Pauline and Stanley Foster Hospital for Cancer Care" and will constitute three floors of the Center, which is scheduled to open in 2016. Cancer is the leading cause of death in San Diego County. The hospital will recruit specially-trained medical staff and will feature first-of-its kind in-patient facility in the County.

The new hospital will, therefore, enhance the strength of the UC San Diego Health System's ability to treat patients with any form of tumour.

"Thanks to Pauline Foster's generous gift, The Pauline and Stanley Foster Hospital for Cancer Care will offer patients hope and healing as they receive the most advanced treatment and support services," said Pradeep K. Khosla, UC San Diego Chancellor. "Offering this type of state-of-the art facility to our community and beyond truly fits UC San Diego's strategic vision."

The Foster family has previously supported the establishment of Shiley Eye Center, Abraham Ratner Children's Eye Center, Ratner Eye Mobile, Rady School of Management, Stanley and Pauline Foster Endowed Chair, Stanley Foster Symposium and the Foster MBA Fellowship Fund with a $2.5 million gift.

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