News Release
May 6, 2008
Contact: Maureen McGuire, 860-679-4523
e-mail:
mmcguire@nso.uchc.edu
Gift from William Raveis Real Estate Will Expand “Navigator” Program for Patients with Cancer
Donation Will Be Celebrated During May 22 Event
FARMINGTON, CONN. – A regional real estate giant recently made a groundbreaking $750,000 pledge to the University of Connecticut Health Center that will expand a program that helps patients who are newly diagnosed with cancer.
On Thursday, May 22, officials with William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage and Insurance – New England’s largest family-owned real estate company – will be honored at the UConn Health Center during a lunchtime recognition program.
Its generous pledge will allow the Health Center, together with the American Cancer Society, to expand the Navigator program, an innovative service that provides support and guidance to patients who are newly diagnosed with cancer. The existing program is run by volunteers and focuses exclusively on patients with breast cancer. With Raveis’s support, it will become a full time program and will assist people with all types of cancer.
This program was intriguing to many of the top leaders at Raveis, including Carolyn Deal, president/COO of William Raveis Real Estate, and a 10-year cancer survivor.
“When you’re first diagnosed, you only halfway hear the things people are telling you. You don’t even know what questions to ask,” she says. “And you quickly find that the more you ask other people, or the more you look online, the more overwhelmed you get, because everyone’s cancer is different,” she adds, noting that she would have appreciated a Navigator program when she was first diagnosed.
“We’ve seen how cancer affects our company,” says Lorraine Megenis, vice president of operations at Raveis. “A very high percentage of our 1,900 sales associates are female. If they haven’t gone through cancer themselves, their sisters, mothers or friends have. We feel the support given to patients through the Navigator program is a necessity.”
“We’ve always supported research and education, but this is something that is helping people right here and now,” adds William Raveis, chairman and CEO. “The big picture is vital, but so is making sure that we assist individual patients and their families through our philanthropy. The collective dedication of our sales associates, employees, vendors and clients has been nothing short of outstanding as we witness such positive outcomes to our fundraising efforts. Knowing this is only the beginning, we’re excited to see where the Navigator program will go in the years to come as it continues to expand and grow.”
“Raveis’s support is so important because it allows us to expand the scope of our program and help more of our patients,” says Carolyn D. Runowicz, M.D., director of the Health Center’s Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, who was the first breast cancer survivor to serve as president of the American Cancer Society. “We’ve seen how useful it has been for patients with breast cancer and recognize the need to provide this service for all of our patients. This program is a real resource for our patients and helps to empower them to become more active partners in their treatment and recovery.”
UConn Health includes the schools of medicine and dental medicine, the UConn Medical Group, University Dentists, and John Dempsey Hospital. Home to Bioscience Connecticut, UConn Health pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. More information about UConn Health is available at www.uchc.edu.
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