Donor Profile: Dr. Cecylia Mizera
Initially inspired by her family physician, Dr. Mizera felt a call to the medical profession at an early age. She made the declaration of her life's ambition to be a doctor at her kindergarten graduation and her parents never let her forget it. Whether it was drawing pictures of people in hospital beds, or helping her biology classmates with dissections, her love for scientific discovery and care for people was a recurrent reminder that being a doctor might be her calling.
After completing both medical school and her general surgery residency at the University of Illinois (UIC), Dr. Mizera began her medical career as a general surgeon at Swedish Hospital. In addition to general abdominal and GI surgery, breast surgery also became a focus of her practice, as it fulfilled a need in the hospital at the time. Now almost 15 years later, this remains a large component of her practice and has influenced her giving to the hospital.
Over the years, Dr. Mizera has been a generous donor to many of Swedish Hospital’s mission-based programs, including the COVID19 Relief Fund. According to Dr. Mizera, “I consider the people who work at Swedish as part of my family. During COVID, so many of our employees--from nurses to housekeeping-- were having a hard time themselves, but were completely dedicated to our patients. Because of everything they did for us during the COVID surge- they are our unsung heroes-- I was compelled to donate to help them.”
Dr. Mizera’s surgical focus on breast cancer and connection to her patients also inspires her giving to Swedish’s Community Breast Health program, which provides screening and diagnostic mammograms to uninsured and low-income patients, free-of-charge. As Dr. Mizera explains, “These patients are the people with whom I have the most connection; I feel that by giving to the Community Breast Health program, I can help at a very grassroots, local level. It is so inspiring to have this connection with my patients and give directly to those who will benefit from it. I now understand how the money is used, and how donations flow seamlessly from a donor to the patient.”
The generosity of our employee donors, like Dr. Mizera, is a testament to the guiding mission of the hospital. If you too would like to help our employees, patients and those most vulnerable in our community, please contact the Foundation office at: 773-293-5121 or visit the general donation form.