Stamford Health Announces $10M Donation For New Breast Center

STAMFORD, CT — As the demand for breast care and cancer treatment is growing, Stamford Health on Monday announced a major donation that will help patients and those in need for years to come.

The Odyssey Group Foundation, under the auspices of Odyssey Group and OdysseyRe, a Stamford-based global, diversified underwriter of reinsurance and specialty insurance, donated $10 million to Stamford Health, which will be used to create a new breast center at Tully Health Center, located at 32 Strawberry Hill Ct.

Currently, breast radiologists and breast surgeons are both at the Tully campus, but spread out across different floors.

The new center will be relocated and redesigned to include better patient flow, the co-location of specialists, improved access to serve more patients and improved privacy for an enhanced patient experience, Stamford Health officials said. Space will also be created so medical and/or radiation oncologists from the Stamford Health Bennett Cancer Center can see patients at Tully.

The new breast center is expected to open in late 2024, according to Stamford Health officials.

Services and treatments will continue at Bennett, as well as other Stamford Health facilities across Fairfield County.

"The women in our area deserve the finest facilities to go along with the finest care. Now it's time to match the level of care we provide to the beautiful and equally impressive settings we want to provide that care in," said Stamford Health President and CEO Kathleen Silard on Monday at Tully Health Center. "This gift will allow us to make improvements that will align us with the goals of our strategic plan. It will help us to continue to grow this very important program, and undoubtedly, it will have immeasurable impacts on the expert patient-centered care we deliver to women at every single stage of their life."

Odyssey Group CEO Brian Young spoke briefly and said he was honored to donate the funds for a good cause.

The money came from the Odyssey Group Foundation, which was formed in 2007 to provide funding to charitable organizations active in communities in which Odyssey Group employees live and work, as well as to charitable organizations dedicated to worldwide disaster relief.

"Stamford Hospital is a beacon in this community. I can't tell you how proud we are to be affiliated with this outstanding institution," Young said.

Odyssey Group writes business in more than 100 territories through a network of over 30 offices located in 13 countries. About 300 employees work at the Stamford headquarters.

Odyssey Group's affiliation with Stamford Health began in 2008 when the foundation donated $2 million to purchase the da Vinci Surgical System, a minimally invasive surgical robot which allows for quicker recovery times.

In 2011, Odyssey pledged $10 million payable to Stamford Hospital over 10 years to support the construction of the new Emergency Room and trauma center. The Odyssey Group Emergency Department opened in 2016.

Stamford Health’s Breast Center is accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons.

In 2009, Stamford Health was the first site in the nation to be accredited by the NAPBC, and was reaccredited in 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2021. The Breast Center is also a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence designated by the American College of Radiology.

The center offers a full suite of breast health services including imaging (MRI, mammography), ultrasound, biopsy, navigation, high-risk and surgery.

Should a patient be diagnosed with cancer, Stamford Health offers the full spectrum of breast cancer care, from initial diagnosis to reconstruction.

Silard noted that in fiscal year 2022, Stamford Health performed more than 28,000 mammograms across Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Wilton and Greenwich, and delivered over 4,300 treatments for breast cancer. That demand is growing, she said.

Stamford Health Breast Center Co-Director Dr. Mia Kazanjian, who is also the director of women’s imaging at Stamford Health, spoke briefly Monday about the importance of the center at the Tully Health Center.

"This gift will make a very meaningful difference for the patients we see," she said. "It is a very important time for outreach, given that many women for so many reasons did not have regular screening mammograms during the pandemic... I'm very excited to be a physician in this field, and I'm super-excited to be a part of this endeavor."

The latest $10 million gift also adds to Stamford Health's campaign for Women and Babies. To date, Stamford Health has raised $33 million out of a $40 million goal.

The campaign is funding the modernization of the Whittingham Pavilion on Stamford Health’s Bennett Medical Center Campus, along with the expansion of other services and programs throughout Stamford Health, all focused on providing top care for women and babies in lower Fairfield County.