$16 million donated to SMH Jellison Cancer Institute

A gift of $16 million has been received by Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation from Susan Milman to support the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute on Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s Sarasota campus. 

The facility, which will offer comprehensive outpatient cancer services, is currently under construction and scheduled to open in late 2025.

The gift will be used specifically to support planning, construction and operations of the new pavilion, which will house an expanded breast health center with the latest mammography, ultrasound, stereotactic and nuclear medicine technology. 

Additional services will include outpatient surgery, advanced HDR brachytherapy, radiation oncology, infusion and diagnostic imaging, plus oncology physician practices and integrative care clinics.

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“Susan has been a generous supporter and friend of the Healthcare Foundation for nearly a decade and was one of the first to recognize the importance of providing comprehensive cancer care close to home,” said Healthcare Foundation President Stacey Corley in a news release. “Her latest transformational gift is testament to her commitment to SMH and the health of our entire community.”

In recognition of the gift and to honor her family — Alan Milman, Natalie Kover Milman, Morris Milman, and Arthur and Fay Kover — the new facility will be named the Milman-Kover Cancer Pavilion.

“I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have a state-of-the-art cancer center with the support and compassionate care of a top-notch cancer team in our community,” Milman said in the release. “It will not only bring peace of mind to cancer patients and families but will also helps advance SMH’s ability to develop new treatments and possibly cures for cancer. I hope others will join me in supporting this important initiative.”

Combined with her previous donation, Milman has given more than $21 million to the foundation.