Donors

Featured Donor: Bill Reeb

"We're Going to Make the New Cancer Center Happen"
– Bill Reeb

There is no doubt about it: Bill Reeb never settles for second best. Never. Whether it is business or sportfishing, or anything in between, Reeb is resolute. "When I make up my mind that it's worthy and the right thing to do," he says, "I only play to win."

It is a philosophy that will soon pay great dividends to all Scott & White cancer patients, as well as to the hospital's reputation for healthcare quality and excellence. Reeb is a leading supporter of Scott & White's proposed new cancer treatment center and is committing both time and money to ensure that Scott &White becomes a national leader in cancer treatment and research.

"Scott & White is surrounded by tremendous population growth," says Reeb, the former president and CEO of Wilsonart International, a leading worldwide producer of decorative laminate and adhesives. "Then, consider that 7 out of 10 people will be touched by cancer at some point in their lives and that the nearest major cancer center is in Houston.

"It is very easy to see that Scott & White has the opportunity and the potential to become something special."

The Challenge

Each year, approximately 2,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed at Scott & White and more than 16,000 patients undergo some form of cancer treatment. Having been first diagnosed in 1996, Bill Reeb is one of those patients.

"Cancer is so damned good at what it does," says Reeb. "It attacks you physically. It attacks you emotionally. It goes after your family. It is relentless."

At the same time, "we're on the five-yard line" of making tremendous advances in cancer research and treatment, adds Reeb-advances that he wants to see in his lifetime, advances that he feels can be made at Scott & White.

"I've been involved with Scott & White in various capacities since moving to Texas in 1980," says Reeb. "It's a great hospital and in a great position to become a leading cancer center."

The Project

Phase one of the project, which is planned for the first floor of the Mabee Diagnostic Center, will involve the renovation of clinic space that was vacated earlier this year. The cost is approximately $12 million. Scott & White's Board of Visitors, championed by Chairman Steve Wells and Reeb, is committed to collectively raising $2.5 million.

When this initial phase is completed, "consolidated and updated" will replace "overcrowded and outdated," centralizing Scott & White's multi-specialty teams and making cancer treatment easily accessible and more comfortable for patients. Plans for the project's second phase include new construction and further expansion of cancer research capabilities.

"Funding the first phase and making the cancer treatment center state-of-the-art will carry over to phase two," says Reeb, who estimates that the total cost of both phases will be in the neighborhood of $100 million.

The Background

One of the things that so impresses Reeb about Scott & White is that many of the pieces a key cancer center requires are already in place. "We have vision in leadership with Dr. Knight and the Board of Trustees," says Reeb, who has traveled the world, visiting a number of major cancer centers. "We have the right level of talent, and we have the commitment of the physicians and medical professionals.

"We also have the research concept already up and running," he says, referring to the Cancer Research Institute that opened on the West Campus in July 2005. "And Scott & White knows how to care for people. We just need for the facilities and the technology to catch up with all of this-to tie it all together in a meaningful way."

Looking Ahead

In conversations about the new cancer treatment center, Reeb continually stresses its importance to the community. "Cancer is a relentless machine that grinds you, and everything about you, down," he says. "If you're in a crowd and look to your left, then look to your right, you'll see three or four people who already have cancer. We all have a choice. We can be watchers or doers. If we get behind this we can make a dream our reality and have a world-class cancer treatment and research center at Scott & White. From when you take your first breath to when you give your last one back, in between is called life. You need to make the best of it. You need to play to win. Help Scott & White build its new cancer center, because we're going to make it happen. It's the right thing to do."

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