James and Eleanor Randall. Photo courtesy The Huntington Memorial Hospital

As breast cancer awareness month shines a spotlight on one of the nation’s leading healthcare concerns, Huntington Memorial Hospital announced today the receipt of a significant endowment from James and Eleanor Randall to support the work and care taking place at the hospital’s nationally renowned breast center.

Currently, Huntington Hospital’s breast center provides thoughtful, compassionate and innovative care to thousands of women each year. The new Randall Endowment for Breast Care will provide the funds needed to support ongoing excellence in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment within the newly named Jim and Eleanor Randall Breast Center.

“This new endowment is vital to the ongoing needs of the hospital and the community,” said Ruth Williamson, M.D., medical director for breast cancer services. “Thanks to the incredible generosity of Jim and Eleanor Randall, each year we will be able to deploy funds wherever there is the greatest need and ensure that Huntington Hospital remains at the forefront of breast cancer care and treatment. By doing so, Huntington will remain a beacon of hope for thousands of women in our region now and for generations to come.”

Dr. Williamson explains that the funds may be used to support advanced diagnostic and therapeutic services or to introduce new and advanced care protocols or new technologies. Other potential uses of funds could include care-coordination services to help patients navigate their complex care needs, pain-management and palliative-care services that reduce discomfort and enhance quality of life, support and assistance for patients’ families, dietitian services, leading-edge research that further enhances care, and general upgrades to the Randall Breast Center facilities as needed.

Inspired in part by their personal experience, the Randall’s felt compelled to give back to the breast center that was, for them, “an oasis in the midst of the chaos that comes with a cancer diagnosis.” When asked how they felt about their generous gift that will secure vital care for women in the San Gabriel Valley and beyond, Eleanor simply answered that she is “happy knowing that countless other women will be able to get the same care as I did.”

Huntington Hospital’s breast cancer program brings together a specialized team of highly trained breast cancer experts – physicians, nurse navigators and other healthcare professionals – who integrate multiple disciplines in a compassionate, comprehensive approach. The hospital’s state-of-the-art imaging means more cancers are found at their earliest, treatable stages when more treatment options are available and survival chances are improved. The hospital’s leading-edge treatments lead to survival outcomes on par with results from university medical centers and research institutes. Huntington Hospital has received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

Huntington Memorial Hospital, www.HuntingtonHospital.com, is a 625-bed not-for-profit hospital located in Pasadena, California. It has been ranked nationally by U.S. News and World Report in two specialties and was named among the top hospitals in California. The hospital is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HuntingtonMemorialHospital and on Twitter at @HuntingtonNews.