Donation Launches Women’s Cardiac

Health Initiative At Danbury Hospital

DANBURY — A women’s cardiac health initiative will be launched at Danbury Hospital as the result of a $100,000 gift from a Ridgefield couple.

 The Danbury Hospital Development Fund announced the donation from John and Joanne Patrick, saying it would complement the hospital’s plan to establish an angioplasty and open heart surgery program in western Connecticut, and a highly public campaign to educate the community about the need for more timely, advanced cardiac care.

Recognizing heart disease as the number one killer of women, the hospital plans to launch The Women’s HeartAdvantage Program as part of its overall emphasis to improve cardiovascular services. The Patricks’ donation will serve as seed money to initiate expanded programs including: women’s heart disease education, outreach and screening activities to focus on early detection, risk reduction and rehabilitation; an interactive website for women to perform personal risk assessments, find information, and get answers to their cardiac and other health questions; and a call-in center for advice and referrals to health care services.

“Danbury Hospital is a regional leader in many aspects of health care. The hospital has a great staff and management team, but they can’t do it alone,” John Patrick said. “The purpose of our donation is to help expand the hospital’s leadership into the area of tailored cardiac health care for women.”

Joanne Patrick, a former cardiac care nurse specialist, has an interest in seeing the needs of women addressed in a way that reflects the different symptoms they may experience and their increasing risk factors as they age.

 “Studies have shown that heart disease in women is not the same as in men, and because of this, the diagnostic procedures, treatments, and all aspects of care must be different. This has not been true for many decades. We hope that our investment in the Women’s HeartAdvantage Program will help to initiate education and training that will personalize a program for the needs of women,” she said.  

“Danbury Hospital is fortunate to have many contributors from within the community it serves. We are proud to be among them and hope that even more fellow community residents will make contributions to this and the many other areas of Danbury’s health care programs,” said the Patricks.

According to Andrew M. Keller, MD, director of the hospital’s cardiology division and medical executive of the cardiovascular service line at the hospital, many people are not aware of the warning signs of heart disease and what can be done to prevent or manage it.

 “Danbury Hospital will take a leadership role in helping women know the signs and symptoms and empower them to act quickly to seek appropriate care,” Dr Keller said. “We want them to understand and manage their risk factors, while educating them because we know they are the primary health care decisionmakers in most families. Women play a vital role in identifying the health needs of members of their immediate and extended families,” he added.

“John and Joanne Patrick have made an extraordinary tribute to Danbury Hospital by acknowledging and supporting our commitment to treating and caring for patients facing the leading cause of death. We are deeply honored in the cardiology division that they have chosen to support our work with such a magnanimous gesture. This gift will strengthen our capacity to sustain excellence in cardiovascular care, education, and outreach in the years ahead,” Dr Keller explained.

“This generous gift is so important because heart disease affects all of us,” said Gerard D. Robilotti, executive vice president of Danbury Health Systems.  “Today’s advancing treatment and diagnostic methods allow for more effective interventions and a higher quality of life after heart disease is found, but we want to do more in the related areas of education and outreach to our community,” he said.

Frank J. Kelly, president & CEO, Danbury Hospital and Danbury Health Systems, said, “With the introduction of programs supported by The Women’s HeartAdvantage, the hospital and its medical staff will continue to improve its capabilities and cardiac health throughout the Danbury region. We are delighted with John and Joanne Patrick’s generosity following the strong show of community support to enhance cardiac care for western Connecticut and nearby New York communities.”

Following the July approval by the state of the hospital’s Advanced Cardiology Certificate of Need, Danbury Hospital began to recruit additional cardiovascular expertise, as well as to train staff with its quality and education partner, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the nation’s premiere heart center. Following this training, the hospital will conduct on-site testing before initiating the open heart surgery component of the program near the end of this year.

 Once the hospital validates its quality monitoring program, it will then implement the interventional cardiology component — angioplasty — that is the standard of care for treating heart attacks. The full program implementation will take 6 to 12 months.