Hoag dedicates Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Court
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All four of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant’s four daughters were born at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach.
Vanessa and her oldest daughter, Natalia, came back to Hoag on Tuesday to celebrate a way of giving back.
Vanessa, the wife of the late Los Angeles Lakers basketball star, gave a philanthropic gift and the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Court was dedicated.
Located at the hospital’s Sue & Bill Gross Women’s Pavilion, the court serves as a prominent departure space where Hoag patients, particularly those with newborns, prepare to leave the hospital and return home.
“Hoag is a special place,” Vanessa Bryant said in a statement. “I have wonderful memories of the care and support I received from the amazing doctors and nurses. I want this gift to help more people experience that level of care when they need it.”
She added that Kobe would wait in that court area to pick her and his daughters up from the hospital.
The Bryants are longtime Newport Beach residents. Vanessa also made an Instagram post about the unveiling.
In a coincidence, the number 24 was already on the building’s exterior when Vanessa Bryant chose the space. What wasn’t a coincidence was that the dedication happened on Feb. 24, the second month of the year reflecting daughter Gianna Bryant’s jersey number and the 24 reflecting Kobe Bryant’s number. They were two of nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas in January 2020.
“This gesture from the Bryant family will have a lasting impact on Hoag, helping us significantly expand care in Newport Beach,” said Robert Braithwaite, president and chief executive of Hoag, in a statement. “What makes this gift so special is the meaningful connection the Bryant family has with Hoag. We’re proud to be part of their healthcare journey.”
The gift from the Bryant family comes at a time when Hoag is accelerating its growth across the region. Last year, Hoag opened its southernmost health center in San Clemente, and the $1-billion expansion of its Irvine hospital, the Sun Family Campus, is scheduled for completion this year.
In October, Hoag officials broke ground on an addiction treatment center on the Newport Beach campus.
