The Marcus Foundation has awarded a $20 million grant to Piedmont Heart Institute to establish the nation's first heart valve reference center.
The Marcus Heart Valve Center at Piedmont Hospital will provide a single resource for patients with congenital or acquired heart valve problems. It also will be a resource for physicians to learn about the latest advancements in treatment for patients who have heart problems and other complex medical issues, and to increase access to care.
"This is a dramatic investment," said Sidney Kirschner, president and CEO of Piedmont Heart Institute.
The grant eventually will enable the hospital to perform as many as 400 heart value repair procedures a year, compared with about 50 over the past few years.
"This will really change the availability for this type of procedure. Right now, the majority of people with this problem leave the state for care. Soon, this will allow them to stay here but also bring other people from the Southeast and the rest of the country here," Kirschner said.
The Marcus Foundation has donated extensively to health care facilities, including the Marcus Autism Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Kirschner said the foundation wanted to make sure top-notch heart valve treatment and research are available "in our own backyard."
He said the focus will be on valve repair and attracting the leading surgical specialists in that field.
"We have an international airport, a great hospitality industry and excellent medical expertise," philanthropist Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, said in a release about the foundation's grant. "My goal is to enhance the latter and provide our experts with new tools and capabilities needed to help more people across the country."
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