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Once again demonstrating their commitment to improve health care and the fight against cancer, Carl J. and Ruth G. Shapiro have pledged $27 million to the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center to upgrade and expand its facilities for cancer care services.
“Carl and Ruth Shapiro’s foresight and generosity will help us meet the challenges of cancer in the 21st century,” said BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, who announced the gift with DFCI President Ed Benz, MD, at last week’s Discovery Ball in Palm Beach. “As the baby boom generation ages, cancer will become more prevalent. And people are living longer with cancer now, which also increases the demand for sophisticated cancer treatment and services. This gift will help us meet this growing responsibility,” Gottlieb said.
The Shapiro gift will make possible the renovation of several patient floors into a state of the art facility for cancer care and surgical services offering comfort to patients and resources and support to their families. One floor of the Tower will feature a new cancer-care pavilion bearing the Shapiro name. A portion of the gift also will underwrite a floor in the new Yawkey Center for Cancer Care and establish a new Shapiro Center for Patients and Families, both at Dana-Farber.
“This is a crucial commitment that will help enable us to provide our patients the most advanced cancer care possible in the most comfortable, modern facilities possible,” said DFCI President Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD. “It will have a very significant impact on the lives of thousands of people with cancer in the coming decades.”
The Shapiros, who live in Palm Beach and Boston, are widely known for their extensive support of the regions’ major medical, cultural and educational institutions. Along with their longstanding support of BWH and DFCI, they have given to Brandeis University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Wellesley College, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Museum of Fine Arts and several other Boston-area organizations. The Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation also supports a wide range of community based non-profits focused on improving the lives of the disabled, disadvantaged and disenfranchised. In 2005, the Shapiros gave $25 million to establish the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at BWH, scheduled to open this spring.