Grateful for care received during a critical time, Dale and Renee Waters supported UC Davis gynecologic oncology research with a goal of helping future patients experiencing gynecologic malignancies.

Helping others receive the same level of care

The Renee and Dale Waters Faculty Excellence Endowment Fund supports research to advance gynecologic oncology.

The UC Davis Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has established the Renee and Dale Waters Faculty Excellence Endowment Fund thanks to a generous estate gift from the couple whose name it bears.

Grateful for the care they received during a critical time from gynecologic oncologist and obstetrics and gynecology Chair Gary Leiserowitz, M.D., M.S., Renee and Dale Waters inquired into how they could best give back – and what would have the greatest impact for future patients experiencing gynecologic malignancies.

“Based on my experience, I want to make sure the same level of care continues for other women,” Renee said. “UC Davis is just phenomenal.” The hospital itself amazes me because you go in and everything is right there, just like its own little city, and when you get there everyone knows you.

They make something that’s so bad so easy to deal with, and are so accommodating, warm and wonderful. They inspired me to want to give back.”

The fund will ensure that the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology can recruit, retain and support the career development of promising young faculty members conducting research in gynecologic oncology.

“At present, the funding environment for research – basic-science and clinical – is uncertain,” Leiserowitz said. “Philanthropy is an important component to support expansion of knowledge in cancer research. This backbone of funding will allow us to identify a researcher committed to gynecologic oncology, and provide them the stable funding they need to focus on their research.”

As Sacramento natives, Renee and Dale both speak of the community they love and have been part of for a lifetime with great warmth. They met while working in the insurance industry, and later built their own company together. Through their work, they helped facilitate health care for numerous clients through their insurance business and the employee health benefit services offered, giving them firsthand insight as to who in the community could deliver the best care for their immediate needs.

Clients who urgently needed an MRI or who broke a leg skiing would call them for input, and their job was to recommend and guide these clients in health care choices, down to physician recommendations.

“We couldn’t practice medicine, but we did practice referral,” they said. “We saw every conceivable illness and injury over the course of those 41 years; you name it, we’ve experienced it with either employees or clients.”

“We were able to open doors for a lot of people and save a lot of lives through connecting them with UC Davis,” they added.

Renee and Dale are pleased to have the opportunity to give back and to help people, acknowledging that not everyone is in a position to be able to do what they’ve done.

“When people like Dale and Renee step up to the plate and make a contribution, it may inspire others to do similar things – and we can build on the funding success to build a bigger program and expand the potential of the research in this area,” Leiserowitz said.

Renee still comes to UC Davis for her follow-up appointments, and said, “I get a warm hug and a warm handshake from ‘Dr. L’ every three months. I know he is very grateful – there’s a lot of warmth there.” She feels she has had the ultimate in medical care, and will forever be grateful to “Dr. L” and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.