University Of Michigan Cardiovascular Center Named In Honor Of Samuel And Jean Frankel

Detroit-area philanthropists advance patient care with $50 million in giving to the Cardiovascular Center

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center will be named in honor of the late Samuel and Jean Frankel, whose foundation provided early support of the Center's innovative model for caring for people with cardiovascular disease.  

The University's Board of Regents approved the naming Thursday to recognize Samuel and Jean Frankel's groundbreaking support of the U-M CVC.  Gifts from the Frankels to advance health care and culture at the U-M are among the most generous in school history, and their heritage of philanthropy has elevated scholarship and culture worldwide.

A $25 million gift from the Samuel and Jean Frankel Foundation to the U-M Cardiovascular Center was announced anonymously when the Center opened in 2007, and today marks the first time the donor has been named publicly.

The gift offered immediate support for the Cardiovascular Center's clinical approach, a model never before attempted by a health care institution, which emphasizes cooperation among health care providers and puts patients and families first.  

An additional $25 million was pledged on condition that the Cardiovascular Center met certain goals agreed upon by the donor and leaders of the Center.  Pleased with the success in meeting those goals, the family has committed the latest gift.

"It is with enormous pride that we are affiliated with Samuel and Jean Frankel whose belief allowed us to create a path for others to follow," says Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D., executive vice president for medical affairs at the University of Michigan and chief executive officer of the U-M Health System.

"The gift guarantees that innovative approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of patients and families with cardiovascular disease will continue at Michigan and provide a national model," Pescovitz says.

Highlights of that model are patient and family centered care, and cooperation, excellence and results in all areas of the Center's operations: clinical care, research and education.

The Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center's four physician directors and chief administrative officer call the gift an investment in the future of health care.

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