Funds will support New York Proton Center patients with treatment-related costs like groceries, travel and housing expenses, insurance copays and medications
Kenilworth, NJ — October 11, 2023 — The New York Proton Center (NYPC) and BR+A Charitable Foundation hosted an event at the Galloping Hill Golf Course last week that raised $35,000 to help NYPC patients address non-clinical financial needs during treatment. There were over 120 attendees at the golf tournament and lunch outing including representatives from Skanska, Lendlease, BR+A Consulting Engineers, Montefiore Health System, Siemens, Rockefeller University, White Plains Hospital, BR+A and Stantec.
All funds will support patients accessing financial support to meet additional costs during treatment through the WiTT Group, Inc.’s Support Registry. The free platform combines the simplicity of a wedding registry with personalized patient needs, making it easier for people to ask for and receive help. Available in English and Spanish, patients can use WiTT’s Support Registry to make their needs visible and get additional support from those within and beyond their network. Anyone can give — and all patients visible to donors are verified by clinical professionals.
“An alarmingly high percentage of people undergoing treatment for cancer must deplete their life savings to do so. Traveling to and from treatment, paying for meals and groceries, finding childcare — all of those costs add up significantly over time,” said Jonathan Weinbach, CEO of the New York Proton Center. “Our partnership with WiTT allows us to better meet those needs for our patients and ease some of that burden.”
Since NYPC partnered with WiTT in April 2023, dozens of patients have signed up, accessing thousands of dollars to diverse non-clinical needs. Transportation and housing expenses, groceries, insurance copays, and medications are among the most common requests for support.
“As a cancer survivor myself, I founded WiTT to provide a platform to help patients get the non-clinical support they need so that they don’t have to make difficult choices between spending on medical treatment and non-medical living costs,” said Rahul Mahadevan, CEO and Founder of the WiTT Group, Inc. “We are grateful for the partnership of the New York Proton Center and all of the attendees at last week’s fundraiser for their contributions. Together we will make an impact to patients in need.”
“Going through treatment for cancer is hard enough. But so many people, like myself when I received treatment for breast cancer at NYPC two years ago, are dealing not just with the stress of being diagnosed — we’re dealing with all the non-medical stresses that come with it from the daily commute to making sure we have nutritiously supportive meals,” said former NYPC patient Kathi Viola. “I’m thrilled to see the center is partnering with an organization like WiTT to support patients in accessing care through their network and a broader community. It truly helps alleviate the financial stressors of treatment for patients in both small and large ways.”
In addition to helping patients address non-clinical financial burdens, lead researchers from NYPC and the Miami Cancer Institute are partnering with WiTT to study the differences in non-clinical financial needs across patient populations so both organizations can use the platform data to optimize support for those in treatment.
New York Proton Center (NYPC) and BR+A Charitable Foundation raises $35,000 to help NYPC patients address non-clinical financial needs during treatment.
About the New York Proton Center
The New York Proton Center is creating the gold standard for proton therapy, giving new hope to patients living with cancer. In partnership with leading academic medical centers—Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Montefiore Health System, Mount Sinai Health System—the New York Proton Center brings together expert oncologists, clinical care teams, and researchers to improve cancer care and advance the clinical evidence for proton therapy.
About The WiTT Group, Inc.
The WiTT Group, Inc. is focused on solving the non-clinical challenges (financial and non-financial) patients face as they go through treatment. The company offers a unique Support Registry platform which empowers patients to get the support they need, as well as making it easy to ask for and receive help. WiTT, which stands for “We’re in This Together,” combines the simplicity of a wedding registry with the personalized needs of a patient and a financial tool, into an easy-to-use platform. WiTT’s initial focus is on cancer care. More information on the WiTT Group can be found at www.wittforever.com. You can also follow The WiTT Group on Facebook and Instagram at @wittforever, @WiTTSupportTeam on Twitter, and The WiTT Group on LinkedIn.
About BR+A and Our Charitable Foundation
BR+A is a global engineering firm that embraces challenging projects for organizations whose work makes a difference in people’s lives and the world. Founded in 1975, BR+A creates state-of-the-art healthcare and proton therapy facilities by providing tightly integrated and coordinated engineering design services that touch every aspect of the built environment. These include MEP/FP systems design, technology systems, sustainability consulting, building commissioning, infrastructure design, master planning, and more. Our more than 525 team members, across multiple offices nationwide, bring unsurpassed technical expertise and wide-ranging creativity to everything we do.
The BR+A Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that was established to provide funding to other charitable organizations close to our heart. The funds raised in this event go towards these charities, including but not limited to, the New York Proton Center (NYPC). Thank you for your generous support! The Charitable Foundation supports charities that BR+A employees are passionate about. Over 50 wonderful charities have been a recipient of funding from our Charitable Foundation, which includes local and national organizations.
For additional information, please visit www.brplusa.com.
