Located off the Beltway on Route 50, the site of Inova’s innovative cancer center once had a very different focus. Long admired for its size at 117 acres, the wooded campus also boasts an excellent location on the East Coast and is conveniently situated for access to major highways. The former president and CEO of Inova, Knox Singleton, was fully aware of this potential when the four-building complex was owned by the oil giant ExxonMobil.
When rumors began to circulate that the corporation was contemplating moving out, Singleton seized the opportunity to promote the concept for a new multidisciplinary cancer and research center for the area, reaching out to well-connected civic leaders and long-term Inova supporters Dwight Schar and Milt Peterson for their assistance. Schar used his contacts as the former financial chairman for the Republican National Committee, speaking to former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Launched in 2019
A deal to secure the campus for the cancer center was finally reached after former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe introduced Schar to the CEO of ExxonMobil at the time, Rex Tillerson. It may have taken a year of negotiations, but the site was finally acquired for the Falls Church-based health system in 2015.
In 2019, Inova opened its cancer center under the agreement of leasing the campus from ExxonMobil for five years. Inova bought the site for $182.5 million in 2020. In addition to offering a dedicated cancer screening and prevention facility, the center also provides proton therapy, radiation oncology and a clinical trials hub, allowing it to treat around 188,000 patients every year.
A Tax-Exempt Organization
For Dwight Schar, the Inova Schar Cancer Institute represents a cause very close to his heart. Coming from a poor family that struggled to access healthcare, his mother’s cancer diagnosis unfortunately led to her premature death at the age of 56.
As a tax-exempt organization, Inova is able to offer care to any prospective patient regardless of their financial status, dramatically changing the prospects of cancer sufferers for the better. Inova’s stated mission statement is “to provide world-class healthcare to every person in every community we have the privilege to serve. In doing so, we commit to actively building anti-racist and anti-discriminatory communities and a fairer society.” This access to care has been a key factor behind Dwight Schar and his wife Martha’s financial donations to Inova, now totaling well over $125 million.
Inova Schar Heart and Vascular
After his donation to Inova’s cancer institute, Inova and Mr. Schar began discussing the hospital’s cardiovascular programs. Recognizing cardiovascular disease is the country’s leading cause of death, as well as the leading cause of hospitalization in Virginia and nationally, Mr. Schar expressed his interest in creating the best possible care regionally, in Northern Virginia. His donation of $75 million to Inova’s heart and vascular programs was made in the hopes of mitigating the effects of this disease and inspiring others to follow suit.
The embedded PDF gives some details about Inova Schar Heart and Vascular.