Some men have their mother’s name tattooed on a bicep, but actor, comedian and native St. Louisan Cedric The Entertainer Kyles has something much grander planned. With his help, SSM St. Mary’s Health Center is planning to open the Rosetta Boyce Kyles Women’s Pavilion, named after Kyles’ mother, a cancer patient at St. Mary’s. “To have my mother’s name on a building and to be able to use my celebrity in order to help others is important to me,” Kyles says.
The pavilion, to be located on the hospital’s fifth and sixth floors, will be one of the first comprehensive women’s health centers in St. Louis, serving a full spectrum of women’s health care needs and providing health and education resources for women and their families, says Dan Buck, vice president of philanthropy at SSM St. Mary’s Health Center Foundation. “It will be a fantastic, solid resource for women of all ages and diverse backgrounds,” he notes.
Although the traditional focus of female health care revolves around reproduction-related issues, the center seeks to broaden the scope to include a diverse list of ailments, including diabetes, obesity, depression, osteoporosis, breast disease, dermatologic conditions, post-menopause care, sports medicine and cardiology, Buck says.
Rosetta Boyce Kyles, a longtime educator who raised Kyles and his sister, Sharita Kyles Wilson, by herself, was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. Through every step of her long treatment, St. Mary’s has been a supportive ally, Kyles says. “We weren’t able to be there every time she had to go to the doctor or for a treatment, so it’s just been a huge thing for me and my sister to be able to trust that someone is taking care of my mother the way we would if we were there,” he says. “I look at this women’s center as something that is going to effectively help more people have access to the same level of treatment my mother received.”
To raise funds for the women’s pavilion, Kyles hosts An Evening with Cedric The Entertainer and Friends Oct. 25 at Peabody Opera House. The inaugural event includes entertainment from Cedric, as well as music from three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jill Scott. “You can believe it will be a good time with great music and great laughs,” Kyles says. “There will be a couple of surprises throughout the evening, and I plan on introducing a few talented local acts, as well. We want this to be about encouragement and the positive health of our community, which the women’s center will help provide for.” For tickets or more information, visit cedricandfriends.org.
Photo: Elton Anderson
[An Evening with Cedric The Entertainer and Friends, the inaugural gala benefiting the Rosetta Boyce Kyles Women’s Pavilion at SSM St. Mary’s Health Center, takes place Oct. 25 at Peabody Opera House. Presenting sponsor is World Wide Technology; co-chairs are David Steward, chairman and founder of World Wide Technology, along with his wife, Thelma. For tickets or more information, visit cedricandfriends.org.]
