Summer 2025
By Katie Berger
Photography by Sasha Pedro, Michael Blanchard
Randi and Joel Cutler couldn’t agree more with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) President Peter J. Healy’s familiar statement: “In partnerships, culture beats strategy every time.” This was their first thought upon learning of the early plans for what would become the future Dana-Farber Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Collaboration (Collaboration). “The concept is brilliant, between two world-class organizations,” said Joel. “It’s a hand-in-glove partnership.”
“The concept is brilliant, between two world-class organizations. it’s a hand-in-glove partnership.”
Joel Cutler
So, they set about structuring a $2 million gift to be shared equally between Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and BIDMC—the first-ever joint gift in support of the two Harvard teaching institutions. The Cutlers established the Culture and Collaboration Initiative with the goal to build on existing goodwill and intensify the already strong, dual leadership dynamic, and expand this critical mindset to both providers and patients. “From the very first meeting, we were blown away by the leaders involved,” said Randi. “Everyone was in lockstep, and they set the tone.” The couple has graciously hosted events in their Boston and Cape Cod homes, enabling key stakeholders to truly get to know one another on a personal level. And their gift will continue to enable patient, staff and donor engagement activities, learning series, and town hall gatherings.
This gift comes at a pivotal time. Following rigorous evaluation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), including an Independent Cost Analysis commissioned by DPH, showing that the Collaboration would be beneficial to the region, the state’s Public Health Council voted unanimously to approve Dana-Farber’s Determination of Need application for a new dedicated adult inpatient cancer hospital. The Boston Planning and Development Agency Board (BPDA) then voted unanimously to approve the designs for the 300-bed hospital. BPDA’s approval is the culmination of a rigorous project review process and reflects the Collaboration’s tremendous potential to provide lifesaving care to countless patients. While city regulatory reviews are ongoing, the shared vision is to build a 300-bed cancer hospital to be located at One Joslin Place in the Longwood Medical Area solely dedicated to oncology care—the only hospital of its kind in the region. At 10 stories high and spanning 450,000 square feet with 10 inpatient floors, the Future Cancer Hospital would connect the BIDMC and Dana-Farber campuses to provide a seamless patient experience.
Looking to the future, the impact of the Collaboration cannot be overstated—and philanthropy will continue to be vital for both institutions. Like many in our hospital communities, giving back is a responsibility the Cutlers take seriously. “We all believe this hospital, and this collaboration, will provide the gold standard of cancer care,” said Joel, a member of the Board of Trustees at BIDMC. Adds Randi: “The impact will be tremendous because we have two remarkable organizations working tightly together to make it so.”