Meeting the growing needs of the local community is paramount to the new Beth Israel Lahey Health Breast Center – Plymouth. Providing support to help fund the center’s relocation, upgrade, and expansion is a priority for the community. You might say the feelings are mutual.
This October, a number of generous funders came together to help open the new Breast Center. The support came from every corner of our community, including a significant gift from the Plymouth Community Charitable Foundation (PCCF) and some of our business partners like the Viscariello Hospitality Group. We also received major gifts from committed individuals like John and Brenda Johnson and Christine Alicandro Karnolt and broad participation from members of our community. Some even jumped in the icy waters off Nelson Park during the Polar Plunge fundraiser to help the Jordan Hospital Club (JHC) raise a deeply meaningful gift.
“I want the Plymouth community to know how much they are appreciated,” says BID Plymouth Board of Trustees member Catherine McKenna, past President of the JHC and original founder of the Polar Plunge 20 years ago. “So many people come together each year to make the event a success. Every donation adds up, directly supporting cancer care at BID Plymouth.”
Providing patients with state-of-the-art services close to home is also what drives the PCCF, whose mission is to give back to the Plymouth community through grants and scholarships to enrich residents’ quality of life. “We are so fortunate to have a hospital of this caliber in our community, and we feel compelled to do what we can as an organization to support it,” says PCCF President Tom Small.
Expanding the Breast Health Center
Twelve years ago, the Breast Center opened at BID Plymouth, providing patients with easy access to a wide range of clinical and support services, from screening mammograms to diagnoses, counseling and education, as well as comprehensive treatments and care for breast cancer.
As the range of services grew, so too did the need for more space. With the new expansion and upgrades, the new Breast Center will be able to offer patients more appointments, more quickly—in a soothing setting that is conducive to healing. “When we talk about breast cancer and prognosis, we really focus on early detection,” says the center’s Director, Robyn Sachs, MD. “If we can make the experience of getting a mammogram easier and more comfortable, we hope it will encourage women to undergo their recommended screening appointments, which will improve breast cancer detection rates, and ultimately, survival rates.”
For members of the JHC as well as the PCCF, support for the Breast Center in Plymouth is personal. “We know the hospital’s physicians and staff, and we know many patients as friends and as neighbors,” says Deb Muido, former President of the JHC and BID Plymouth Advisory Board member. “We believe wholeheartedly in this event and in BID Plymouth’s mission,” she says. Adds Small: “The hospital does so much for our area and we’re privileged to be able to make an investment in the hospital’s growth, and an investment in this community that we care so deeply about.”
To support the Breast Center, make a gift to BID Plymouth today.
View more photos from the Breast Center Ribbon-Cutting and Pre-Opening Celebration.
