Standing (L-R): Kristin Lessler, FNP-BC; Laura Davis; Cathy Tweedy, Secretary, The Ellen Hermanson Foundation; Anne Ciardullo, Vice President, The Ellen Hermanson Foundation; Dr. Edna Kapenhas, Medical Director of the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center; Laura Borghardt, Director of Cancer Services Phillips Family Cancer Center and the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center; and Michele Wintjen, FNP. Sitting: Julie Ratner, Co-Founder and Chair, The Ellen Hermanson Foundation. (Photo: Lisa Tamburini)

The Ellen Hermanson Foundation has awarded $363,000 in grants for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. The grants will be administered in partnership with the Southampton Hospital Foundation and in coordination with Stony Brook Medicine’s Phillips Family Cancer Center.

The funding supports the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and its local satellite locations, as well as Ellen’s Well, a program that provides psychosocial support to breast and gynecological cancer patients. The Ellen Hermanson Breast Center is committed to providing quality breast health care and access to advanced technologies. No one is turned away for lack of insurance and if they cannot pay.

For the third consecutive year, grants have also been awarded to members of The Ellen Hermanson Foundation Community Partnership to support bilingual outreach, social support via micro-grants, and breast care education for women without ready access to health care.

“We are committed to continuing our support of The Ellen Hermanson Foundation Community Partnership,” said Julie Ratner, Ed.D., Co-founder and Board President of The Ellen Hermanson Foundation. “The uninsured, underinsured and underserved in our East End community need and deserve quality breast health care.”

The Ellen Hermanson Foundation Community Partnership is comprised of East End organizations, including the Shinnecock Health Center (Stony Brook Southampton Hospital); Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center; OLA (Organización Latino-Americana) of Eastern Long Island; The Retreat; and, Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert Ellen Hermanson Memorial Symposium.

The Ellen Hermanson Foundation Board approved grants to fund the following 2024 programs:

• The Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
• Technology fund toward a cutting-edge tomosynthesis mammography machine
• Salary stipends for the Ellen’s Well licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), a nurse practitioner, and an oncology nurse patient navigator
• Emergency fund for breast screenings and diagnostic procedures
• Ellen’s Well micro-grants for transportation and social services
• Support for the Phillips Family Cancer Care Summit

Separately, an international Breast Cancer Surgical Mission to the Dominican Republic is funded by the Foundation through the bequest of Ruth Quint, the aunt of Julie Ratner and Ellen Hermanson. The mission will be led by Dr. Edna Kapenhas, Medical Director of the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital to administer breast screenings and treatment.