CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previous story.
An upgrade at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute is on its way thanks to a very generous donation from one of UH’s own doctors.
Alan Markowitz, MD, and his wife, Cathy Pollard, RN, have recently made a commitment of $1 million in order to help establish the Alan Markowitz, MD and Cathy Pollard Cardiac Surgical Innovation Fund. The fund will help to support cardiac surgeons and structural heart specialists who want to learn about new techniques and technologies as they emerge in other parts of the United States and the rest of the world. It is worth noting that Markowitz is currently the Cardiac Surgical Director at UH Ahuja Medical Center.
“The field of heart surgery is constantly changing. At UH, we’re dedicated to learning and adapting to help our surgeons excel and deliver optimal outcomes for patients,” said Dr. Markowitz.
Markowitz previously had been one of the leaders in bringing Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to the United States. Back in 2009, Markowitz and a team of UH interventional cardiologists and cardiac anesthesiologists went to Portugal in order to observe the procedure. Then, in 2011, UH Cleveland Medical Center became one of just 40 institutions in the country to participate in the first TAVR clinical trials. Markowitz’s donation will help to make more things like this possible.
“Alan is relentless in his pursuit of innovative approaches for heart surgery. The TAVR experience really demonstrates the impact Alan and Cathy’s gift could have on the UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute,” said Dan Simon, MD, President of Academic & External Affairs and Chief Scientific Officer at UH, and the Ernie and Patti Novak Distinguished Chair in Health Care Leadership. “Our time overseas learning this minimally-invasive, catheter-based procedure put UH in a position to be a pioneer in new approaches to aortic valve replacement initially and now with mitral and tricuspid valve repair and replacement.”
“I’d like to think of this as seed money that will give the division the ability to stay in the forefront of the field for years into the future,” Dr. Markowitz said.