Tampa hospital foundation receives $8.5M from single donor

Tampa General Hospital Foundation recently received a large sum from a Tampa Bay author and publisher who received care at TGH. Helen A. Rich donated $8.5 million with the goal of creating a breast cancer center within the TGH Cancer Institute, according to a statement. 

Of that money, $1 million of the funds will be used to establish a dedicated Global Health Program within the hospital's Department of Surgery. She also designated a portion of the funds be used toward creating murals and installing other artwork to be a comfort to patients.

Rich decided to make the donation after receiving treatment for her recurring breast cancer at Tampa General under the care of Dr. Victoria Rizk, an oncologist who specializes in the disease, the release states. 

Rich says she was moved by her treatment from the team and the patient-centric collaboration according to a statement from the hospital.

“We are so very grateful that Helen chose to support Tampa General Hospital with this wonderful gift," says Frann Leppla, executive vice president and chief philanthropy officer of Tampa General in a released statement. "In honoring her caregivers this way, she's leaving a lasting legacy for all of our oncology patients that will make their treatments a little bit brighter."

Rich has supported other local endeavors, including co-operating a 200-acre rescue farm with her daughter and establishing the Helen A. Rich K9 Research and Training Campus, where dogs from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, the state and sometimes around the country are trained in everything from search and rescue to drug detection.