On Nov. 13, Boca Raton Regional Hospital celebrated the opening of the Toby and Leon Cooperman Medical Arts Pavilion. Construction for the Pavilion began a little over two years ago as part of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation’s (BRRHF) “Keeping the Promise” campaign, an historic fundraising campaign that to date has brought in nearly $270 million from the local philanthropic community, including $25 million from the building’s namesakes, Toby and Leon Cooperman.
“It really fits what I want to accomplish,” says Leon Cooperman, “people don’t have to go to New York or Miami for quality healthcare, they can get it in their own local community.”
Among the many state-of-the-art medical technologies housed in the new pavilion is a High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound machine, a non-invasive treatment that uses high frequency sound waves to destroy prostate cancer cells without damaging the surrounding tissue or organs.
“We can see men with prostate problems, we can diagnose them in the office, we can get some imaging, we can take them to surgery, all in the same building,” says Boca Regional Director of Urologic Oncology Dr. David Taub.
The new Pavilion will be essentially a one-stop shop for medical care. The building houses doctor’s offices, medical specialty clinics and five new operating rooms double the size of the hospital’s existing ORs—all a stone’s throw away from the new, multi-story Eleanor R. Baldwin parking garage.
For the local benefactors that have helped Boca Regional “keep the promise,” standing in the halls of the Cooperman Pavilion represents a dream come true.
“For years people have felt that the first place they had to go if they had a serious medical problem was the airport,” says donor and former BRRHF Chairman Dick Schmidt. “Now they don’t have to because they can get the best medical care right here.”
The next phase of the hospital’s “Keeping the Promise” campaign will include the opening of the Gloria Drummond Patient Tower, a 462-room facility that will give patients their own private rooms. Other future projects include a proton therapy treatment facility, a renovation of the existing hospital, a new central energy plant that will keep the hospital self-sufficient through emergencies, and more. Within 10 years, the total investment in the hospital will exceed $1 billion, including funds from Boca Regional parent company Baptist Health South Florida.
“It’s nothing short of a miracle to see all this happening in such a short amount of time,” says Boca Regional CEO Lincoln Mendez, “I think it’s a testament to this community.”
