New York's First Lady, Libby Pataki, Joins Leading Philanthropist Iris Cantor at Opening of Iris Cantor Women's Health Center

New Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Offers "One Stop Shopping" for New York Women Seeking Health Care Service

Apr 24, 2002

NEW YORK

Dr. Herbert Pardes, President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System, and Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, announced today the opening of the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center, and recognized Iris Cantor for her extraordinary efforts that led to the establishment of the Center—one of the most comprehensive medical facilities for women in New York City.

Mrs. Cantor, a native New Yorker and leading philanthropist, has been a long-standing supporter for the advancement of medicine, specifically health care initiatives for women. The Iris Cantor Women's Health Center reflects Mrs. Cantor's vision to create a full-service women's health center on the East Coast.

"Our city now has an extraordinary facility that brings together the finest medical care for women. We have placed the most essential medical specialties under one roof, providing as I like to call 'one-stop' shopping," said Mrs. Cantor.

The new Center occupies the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th floors of 425 East 61st Street—seven blocks from NewYork-Presbyterian's Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Orli Etingin, Director of the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center, says the Center offers complete women's health care including a team of internal medicine specialists, a breast center, an imaging center, and physicians offices in dermatology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, gynecology, and neurology.

"Our goal is to provide our patients with superb coordinated care in one single setting," said Dr. Etingin. "They will have access to the latest prevention, screening and treatment services in all areas of medicine, especially those relating to women."

Additional services available at the Center include on-site osteoporosis testing, on-site mammography, nutritional counseling, and on-site physical therapy. A comprehensive women's health education and resource center is also available to provide patients with additional support and empower women to achieve their optimal level of care.

"Mrs. Cantor's long-term dedication to women's health care initiatives mirrors our commitment to providing high quality medical care to women in New York. The new Iris Cantor Women's Health Center will focus on meeting the needs of the whole patient in a warm and compassionate environment," said Dr. Pardes.

"We salute Mrs. Cantor for her extraordinary support of the women's health care initiatives that led to the creation of our Iris Cantor Women's Health Center. Through this unique facility, our team of physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, can provide the latest prevention, screening and treatment services in one convenient location," said Dr. Gotto.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mrs. Cantor is chairman of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. Established in 1978, it funds the visual arts as well as medical, educational, and cultural institutions and programs in the United States and abroad. She has been a dedicated supporter of advancements in health care, with a focus on women's health programs. Continuing her commitment to women's health care on the East Coast, Mrs. Cantor made a generous donation in June of 2000 to create the new Iris Cantor Women's Health Center at NewYork-Presbyterian's Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Her commitment to health care in New York is long-standing, as she serves on the Board of Trustees at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and as vice chairman of the Lying-In Hospital. Iris Cantor, and her late husband, Bernie, have also contributed funds to create the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Ambulatory Surgery Center for outpatient care and the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Laboratory for Immunological Research in Diabetes at NewYork-Presbyterian's Weill Cornell Medical Center. In 1996, Mrs. Cantor donated funds to the Medical Center's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology that provided eleven birthing rooms, two operating rooms and a new waiting room.