The Benefit, a Community Celebration of Healthcare Champions

Barbara Netter, visionary philanthropist, devoted friend of Greenwich Hospital, and stalwart champion of medical and scientific progress, will be honored with the hospital’s Arc of Care Campaign Luminate Health and Medicine Award on Friday, September 26, 2025.

The hospital’s annual Benefit, to be held at Greenwich Country Club, will also recognize neurosurgeons Murat Günel, MD, and Zion Zibly, MD, whose transformative work in the community has been enhanced by Mrs. Netter’s philanthropic leadership.

In addition to celebrating the evening’s honorees, this year’s Benefit will showcase the significant progress that has fueled the Arc of Care Campaign for Greenwich Hospital – a $125 million multi-year fundraising endeavor that supports five key areas of excellence: Behavioral Health, Children’s Health, Heart and Vascular, Neuroscience and Oncology.

Our Awardee

“Greenwich Hospital is extremely proud to honor Barbara Netter, a longtime Greenwich resident, supporter and dedicated member of our Arc of Care Campaign Leadership Council. Her wisdom, inquisitiveness and support provide an invaluable partnership that has helped realize our hospital’s goals as part of a thriving academic health system,” said Greenwich Hospital Board Chair W. Robert Berkley, Jr. “Her lead investments, alongside those of other devoted friends in the community, with a particular focus on Neuroscience, have made possible some of the most innovative services, technologies and treatments in the region.”

“Over the years, I’ve been amazed by how Greenwich Hospital has embraced and implemented science, technology and research that have truly transformed our community’s healthcare landscape,” said Mrs. Netter. “I am honored to play a role within the hospital’s historic campaign, which has given me a wonderful opportunity to get to know physicians who are bringing their extraordinary talents to Greenwich.”

Extraordinary Physician Honorees

Two of those physicians are Dr. Günel and Dr. Zibly, who have made Greenwich Hospital a hub for neurorestorative care over the past five years.

“We are delighted to recognize Dr. Günel and Dr. Zibly alongside Barbara Netter. Both neurosurgeons are considered pioneers – devoting their careers to exploring what is possible within their field. The fact that they are bringing their discoveries, leadership and talents to our community is life-changing for our patients,” said Greenwich Hospital President Robert Blenderman.

Considered one of the world’s most illustrious doctors and researchers in genomics, neurosurgery, and neuroscience, Dr. Günel is the Sterling Professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, professor of Neurobiology and Genetics at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), and the neurosurgeon-in-chief at Yale New Haven Health. He is also the director of the Yale Program in Brain Tumor Research and co-director of the Yale Program on Neurogenetics.

Guided by Dr. Günel’s vision and leadership, Greenwich Hospital has experienced exponential growth within its Neurosciences program. He will be honored for his role in transforming the local landscape for diagnosis and treatment of patients.

A world-renowned expert in high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), Dr. Zibly leads Greenwich Hospital’s HIFU program, making it one of the few hospitals in the country offering this noninvasive surgery for patients seeking relief from tremors due to movement disorders. He is the director for the Center of Neuromodulation, director of the Center of Neurosurgical Cancer Pain, head of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, head of the Focused Ultrasound Institute, and associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at YSM.

Dr. Zibly will be honored for his groundbreaking research and work, which has provided local patients with life-changing hope and healing.

Join Us

“The Arc of Care Campaign, our hospital’s first campaign in nearly two decades, is making exciting progress possible, and we are delighted to celebrate these incredible milestones with our devoted friends whose support impacts the healthcare outcomes not just for today, but for generations to come,” said Noël Appel, senior vice president and chief development officer at Greenwich Hospital.

The Benefit festivities will begin at 6:30 pm with cocktails. Guests will then gather under an elegantly decorated tent to enjoy dinner, dancing and live entertainment. To support the Benefit for Greenwich Hospital’s campaign fundraising areas with tickets, tables, tribute advertisements, corporate sponsorships, and donations visit 25BENEFIT.GIVESMART.COM.