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Gloria Gemma seeks $500,000 to open state’s first comprehensive cancer survivorship center; survivors testify
Summary
The Gloria Gemma Foundation asked lawmakers to provide $500,000 to open a statewide cancer survivorship and rehabilitation center that will offer free counseling, rehab classes and complementary therapies to patients, survivors and family members.
The Gloria Gemma Foundation and multiple witnesses asked the House Finance Committee for a $500,000 appropriation to support a new statewide cancer survivorship and rehabilitation center set to open this summer.
Testimony included personal accounts from survivors and clinicians. Jennifer Ortiz and Jack Donnelly described the foundation's peer‑support, counseling and complementary therapies. Carol Donnelly, Gloria Gemma's development and communications manager and a two‑time survivor, said the center will offer mental‑health supports, physical‑rehabilitation classes and alternative therapies free of charge, and emphasized that approximately 6,400 Rhode Islanders are diagnosed with cancer each year.
Clinical witnesses including licensed social worker Shake Kazarian said the foundation provides programs that meet patients' needs "in real time," including metastatic patient support groups, grief groups, and care navigation. Advocates argued that additional state funding would expand access and that the center will serve patients with all types of cancer rather than only breast cancer.
Witnesses said the foundation intends to operate long term and seek continued funding beyond one‑time support; they asked the committee to consider an annual appropriation to sustain services. No committee vote was taken at the hearing; proponents said they will submit documentation of program plans and budgets for committee review.
