Baptist Health Foundation Receives $1.5M Gift to Establish Endowed Chair at Miami Cancer Institute
MIAMI, FL – April 8, 2022 – Baptist Health Foundation announced today that it has received a $1.5 million donation that has been designated to establish an endowed chair at Baptist Health’s Miami Cancer Institute. The chair will be named the Kalman Bass Associate Chair in Skin Cancer, in recognition of Kalman Bass and to honor his 100th birthday. It will support the work of Naiara Abreu Fraga Braghiroli, M.D., a dermatologist at Miami Cancer Institute.
“The Foundation is tremendously grateful for this generous gift,” said Alex Villoch, CEO of Baptist Health Foundation. “It is a wonderful tribute to Kalman Bass’s life and love for his family. His legacy will be instrumental in supporting the Institute’s skin cancer research endeavors and improving patient outcomes.”
The Bass family have deep roots in Miami, and are longtime supporters of Baptist Health and its physicians. Mr. Bass is a patient of Dr. Braghiroli, who specializes in skin cancer treatment that uses the latest technology to monitor and diagnose high-risk patients. The high quality of care he received from Dr. Braghioli and her staff was a principal reason for the gift to establish the endowed chair.
“The creation of this new endowed chair is such an honor,” said Dr. Braghiroli. “The Institute is involved in numerous clinical trials for the treatment of melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and we are grateful to have the funding needed to help us learn more about how to treat these conditions, which are particularly prevalent in South Florida.”
Miami Cancer Institute, which opened in 2017, cares for an average of 1,200 patients each day. The Institute provides unparalleled expertise in individual cancers, and access to the world’s latest cancer discoveries, most effective treatments and best outcomes – all right here in South Florida.
“This donation will help Miami Cancer Institute keep expanding its resources in service to the community,” said Michael J. Zinner, CEO and executive medical director. “The endowed chair is valuable not only in helping us explore life-saving treatments for skin cancer patients, but also in attracting world-renowned physicians and other experts to the Institute.”
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About Baptist Health Foundation
The mission of Baptist Health Foundation is to inspire philanthropy and build extraordinary donor relationships in support of excellence, innovation, community wellness and global leadership in healthcare at Baptist Health South Florida. Through philanthropy, the Foundation supports and expands Baptist Health’s ability to provide outstanding patient care and bring the latest treatments to patients and families affected by a serious illness. Donor contributions also allow the Foundation to assist Baptist Health facilities in keeping pace with technology and equipment advances, perform cutting-edge research and offer continuing education opportunities to medical staff. Learn more at BaptistHealth.net/Foundation.
About Miami Cancer Institute
Miami Cancer Institute brings to South Florida access to personalized clinical treatments and comprehensive support services delivered with unparalleled compassion. No other cancer program in the region has the combination of cancer-fighting expertise and advanced technology—including the first proton therapy center in South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean, and one of the only radiation oncology programs in the world with each of the newest radiation therapies in one place—to diagnose and deliver precise cancer treatments that achieve the best outcomes and improve the lives of cancer patients. The Institute offers an impressive roster of established community oncologists and renowned experts, clinical researchers and genomic scientists recruited from the nation’s top cancer centers. Selected as Florida’s only member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer (MSK) Alliance, Miami Cancer Institute is part of a meaningful clinical collaboration that affords patients in South Florida access to innovative treatments and ensures that the standards of care developed by their multidisciplinary disease management teams match those at MSK.
Miami Cancer Institute is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest healthcare organization in the region, with 12 hospitals, more than 24,000 employees, 4,000 physicians and 100 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning across Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Baptist Health has internationally renowned centers of excellence in cancer, cardiovascular care, orthopedics and sports medicine, and neurosciences. In addition, it includes Baptist Health Medical Group; Baptist Health Quality Network; and Baptist Health Care On Demand, a virtual health platform. A not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to its faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence, Baptist Health has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.
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