Team BIDMC is running to support the following programs: Kidney Disease Research, Bowdoin Street Healthy Champions Program, The Klarman Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), The Cancer Center,  Cancer Vaccine Research, and the Annual Fund. Several of our runners are also supporting our Needham, Milton and Plymouth affiliates. Thank you for your support!

Bowdoin Street Healthy Champions Program

Healthy Champions is an anti-obesity education, fitness and community-building program serving primarily low-income children ages 7-14 with BMI ≥ 85%-95% from the surrounding Bowdoin/Geneva neighborhood.  Under supervision of a case manager/fitness coach and our nutritionist, the Healthy Champions learn about the importance of nutrition and healthy foods, food preparation/food access in their neighborhood, and fitness and healthy lifestyles. They plan, implement and sustain their own plot in the local community garden each year, in turn learning important marketing lessons by selling their produce at the Bowdoin/Geneva Farmers’ Market (held on-site at Bowdoin Street Health Center) each week during the growing season.  Perhaps most importantly, Healthy Champions serve as “ambassadors of health” to their families and peers in the community, sharing their knowledge about health and wellness while developing a sense of confidence in their ability to effect healthy changes in themselves and in the wider community. With the recent completion of an on-site Wellness Center at Bowdoin Street Health Center, youth involved in the Healthy Champions program will now be able to engage in additional wellness opportunities, ranging from cooking classes to fitness programming.

Kidney Disease Research

The Renal Division Research Team has identified a reason for the high rate of kidney disease in people of African descent. Kidney disease is five times more likely to affect African Americans than other groups of people, and the team is actively working to alleviate this epidemic. This is a major public health problem and this research, which may lead to major advances in treatment, is unique to BIDMC. Dialysis is not a cure. Fewer than 40 percent of dialysis patients live more than five years. Rates of kidney failure are increasing and the cost to treat those patients continues to rise each year. In 2009, $42.5 billion was spent to provide care to those with kidney failure. Over the next three to five years, the Renal Division Research Team aims to use their findings to better understand, prevent, and treat kidney disease in African Americans. They plan to develop a multifaceted approach to solving this problem that will be highly visible and have a large impact on the lives of individuals and their families.  

Annual Fund

BIDMC depends on the Annual Fund to fulfill its mission of providing compassionate patient care.

This fund raises unrestricted dollars that can be used immediately for a wide range of needs. They provide a reliable, steady source of funding for the programs that need it most:

• Promising research projects, such as cancer genetics investigations
• Annual operating costs, such as funding for social worker positions
• Career development opportunities for staff, such as continuing education scholarships for nurses
• Expansion of clinical spaces, like minimally invasive surgery suites
• Academic and teaching programs, such as fellowships for the next generation of physicians in growing service lines

The Klarman Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Each year, approximately one in eight babies in the United States is born prematurely, which has a profound impact on newborns and their families. These vulnerable babies often present with complex medical needs, ranging from severe breathing trouble to underdeveloped organs, and require specialized care to give them a healthy start. The Klarman Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at BIDMC provides state-of-the-art, family-centered care for about 1,000 high-risk newborns and their families each year.

Cancer Center

The Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is proud of its most gifted physicians and medical researchers who have made cancer treatment their life's work. Together with the outstanding nurses and staff, these dedicated professionals form a team that is committed to breakthrough treatments delivered with kindness and respect.

The Cancer Center at BIDMC is integral to one of Harvard Medical School's major teaching and research institutions. At BIDMC, scientists and doctors have made many discoveries that have led to greater understanding of cancer mechanisms resulting in improved and innovative cancer care. And because we have always understood the physical and emotional toll of a cancer diagnosis, our specialists take the time to listen to your concerns, answer your questions and develop unique support systems. Together, we can help you make the best decisions about your care and deliver treatment with unparalleled compassion.

As a Harvard teaching hospital, we are renowned for our leading-edge cancer care and for our pioneering discoveries that have led to unique cancer treatment strategies. We have made great strides in curing some cancers and managing many others. We know that success is measured one patient at a time. That genuine warmth and compassion can make a huge difference in a patient's outcome. We respect the dignity, values, needs and opinions of each person we are privileged to treat.

Cancer Vaccine Research

The BIDMC’s Cancer Vaccine Research team, led by David Avigan, M.D., is working to test new ways in which the immune system can be harnessed to fight cancer. For more information on their work, please read this article and view this video.