Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 | 2 a.m.
St. Rose Dominican Hospital’s Siena Campus is receiving a historic donation of $17 million from local philanthropists Andrew and Dr. Peggy Cherng, owners of the Panda Express restaurant chain.
It’s a gift that St. Rose officials say is the biggest in the St. Rose Dominican Health Foundation’s 78-year history, and one of the largest health care gifts made in Nevada.
“It’s an extraordinary act of generosity, and it underscores a shared commitment to advancing accessible, high-quality health care in Vegas,” said Dr. Chad Warren, president and chief philanthropy officer of the St. Rose Dominican Health Foundation. “We’re so appreciative of (the Cherngs) stepping forward in this capacity, and we hope this will inspire others.”
Dignity Health, operators of the St. Rose Dominican hospitals, was founded in 1986 and operates various hospitals in 21 states. It has two locations in Henderson and another in southwestern Las Vegas on West Warm Springs Road.
The group will use the donation to purchase a four-story medical office building off St. Rose Parkway and Eastern Avenue near the Siena campus.
The 88,000-square-foot facility holds medical offices, a comprehensive cancer center, a pharmacy and a Quest Diagnostics connected to Dignity Health.
Warren said the building would allow Dignity Health to expand its existing services at the Siena campus and bring much-needed medical care to the valley.
The 548,000-square-foot Siena campus provides cardiology, obstetrics, emergency, oncology and surgical care services, to name a few. The hospital aims to enhance its cancer, pediatric and trauma services, though that’s still early in the planning process, Warren noted.
An expansion would not only bring more health services to the region, but economic development and better access to services as well, officials say.
Warren said the donation would give Dignity Health the ability to attract primary care doctors by investing in state-of-the-art equipment and patient care. The group has 3,400 full-time employees, he said.
To attract those doctors and specialists, hospitals must build their work infrastructure through providing the necessary space and best technology, he explained.
Gathering a team of specialists across a wide variety of fields will create what Warren referred to as a “holistic campus” where patients can get all of their medical needs addressed in one spot. Transportation, cost and time can sometimes prevent patients from seeking care, and “friction” can occur if a person is seeing multiple doctors for various medical conditions.
By bringing all of these services together under one roof, barriers are removed for patients, leading to less stress so they can focus on their well-being, officials said. Warren added that, as Las Vegas continues to grow, “there’s a comfort and familiarity” in going to one place for medical care.
To honor the Cherng’s “historic” commitment, the four-story building, formerly known as the Del Webb Medical Plaza, was given a new name Friday: the Cherng Family Medical Building.
The donation has been two years in the making, but Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican has had a long history with the Cherng family.
Dr. Peggy Cherng and her husband, Andrew, made the historic donation.
Peggy and Andrew Cherng, co-founders and co-CEOs of the Panda Restaurant Group, have been routine donors to causes concerning education, health care and disaster relief. Through Panda Cares, the Panda Restaurant Group’s philanthropic branch, over $415 million has been raised in support of the health and education of underserved kids.
St. Rose Dominican hospitals are part of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, an association created over 40 years ago that raises funds for 170 pediatric hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. More than $9 billion has been raised since — some of it going toward St. Rose Dominican hospitals.
When you grab a bowl of orange chicken and white rice at your local Panda Express, some of the money you round up or donate goes toward the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which then gets dispersed to places like St. Rose Dominican hospitals.
The $17 million donation was given through the Panda Charitable Family Foundation, another of the Cherngs’ nonprofits that supports health and education, said Peggy Cherng, a Henderson resident.
Peggy Cherng, in an interview with the Sun, stressed that it was important for her family to show how much it cares for this community and give back.
The Cherngs started talking to the hospital chain about helping when they moved here in 2014.
“We need to bring more talented physicians over to Nevada, and Las Vegas and Henderson. Nevada has never been viewed as that strong in providing medical services, so hopefully by bringing more talented physicians over, then we can answer to the community need in health care,” Peggy Cherng said. “We want to make sure we’re making a difference in the community that we live and we work, and that our children live and work.”