St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® has established a new Cardiology Innovation Research Fund, guaranteeing that resources are perpetually available to invest in high-level cardiac training and research, thanks to a $5 million gift from Wilbur F. Breslin & Family, through the Breslin Realty Associates Foundation.
This was announced on Oct. 20, at the St. Francis Hospital Foundation gala in Garden City, and marks the beginning of an effort to seed this new endowment with $25 million in funding for cardiovascular research.
“With this bold commitment to research and innovation, our team of exceptional clinical leaders will continue to deliver first-in-class care to our patients,” explains Dr. Charles Lucore, president, St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center. “By paving the way, our clinical teams are also set on making a global impact and helping to educate clinicians around the world in these new standards of excellence. We remain grateful to the Breslin family for their commitment to our shared goal of leading the way in cardiovascular care and research.”
“I am proud to be able to contribute to the hospital and support the Cardiology Innovation Research Fund at St. Francis Hospital. Without similar contributions by many others before me, I’m not sure I would be in this position today giving back to the next generation of world-class care offered by the hospital,” shares Wilbur F. Breslin, chief executive officer and chairman of the Board at Breslin Realty Development Corp. “Together we can ensure that St. Francis Hospital has the resources available to remain one of the preeminent cardiovascular care facilities in the world.”
In recent years, the volume and impact of research has accelerated under the leadership of Dr. Richard Shlofmitz, chair of cardiology at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center, and chair of cardiology at Catholic Health.
Additionally, at the DeMatteis Cardiovascular Institute, research is driving the development of new therapies that afford patients longer and more productive lives. The hospital has one of the highest volume of enrollments in cardiac clinical trials across the country.
“Support for the Cardiology Innovation Research Fund is an opportunity to help shape the next generation of care, not only at St. Francis, but worldwide,” says Dr. Richard Shlofmitz, chair of cardiology at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center, and chair of cardiology at Catholic Health. “Our goal is to seed a Cardiology Innovation Research Fund at St. Francis Hospital, with a focus on consistently building capacity in clinical care, research and recruitment.”
In his role as chair of cardiology, Shlofmitz has ushered in new gold standards for imaging and techniques related to percutaneous coronary intervention which is the procedure that utilizes a catheter to clear blockages in the coronary arteries of the heart. He is recognized as a leader in optical coherence tomography which is a form of intravascular imaging that provides three-dimensional views of the heart’s vessels in real-time.
