Praxair Donates $4 Million To Danbury Hospital’s New Heart Center

DANBURY — Danbury Hospital has announced the naming of The Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular Center, recognizing a $4 million gift by Praxair Foundation Inc. This is the largest corporate foundation gift ever received by Danbury Hospital and will further assist the hospital in improving its facilities, programs, and services for cardiovascular patients, following an accelerated year of progress to establish open heart surgery and angioplasty programs to serve the community.

 “Danbury Hospital has been a great resource for the region for many years, and is committed to improving access to timely heart and vascular care,” said Dennis H. Reilley, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Praxair Inc. “After witnessing the hospital’s successful efforts to establish programs for open heart surgery, angioplasty, and advanced vascular care, we are eager to support ongoing developments to offer a full-service program for surrounding communities.

“At Praxair, we are honored to play a key role in helping Danbury Hospital provide the best possible services for cardiovascular disease,” he said. “We believe that our support to address this leading killer offers the best opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.”

According to Gerard D. Robilotti, president of the Danbury Hospital Development Fund and executive vice president of Danbury Health Systems, the Praxair gift will support renovations, technology, and other equipment at the heart and vascular center, which includes cardiology, cardiology testing, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, and thoracic surgery. The cardiac intensive care unit, the cardiac medical step-down unit, the cardiothoracic step-down unit and the noninvasive cardiology ambulatory care services — all part of the Regional Heart and Vascular Center — will bear the Praxair name.

“Praxair has assumed a generous leadership role to encourage gifts that will help Danbury Hospital build a regional center of excellence for heart and vascular disease; through continued support we will improve our ability to continue making investments in new cardiovascular technology and expertise,” said Mr Robilotti.

Frank J. Kelly, president and CEO of Danbury Hospital and Danbury Health Systems, said, “We have made paramount investments to treat and manage cardiovascular disease in an effort to reverse the cycle of patients having to leave our community for advanced care. We are extremely pleased to see Praxair take such a leadership role with this extraordinary corporate gift. We are privileged to have this partnership develop through Praxair’s strong commitment to regional health care, as well as Praxair’s desire to ensure quality, safety and convenience for people with cardiovascular care and their families.”

Praxair Inc is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide. Praxair products, services, and technology bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries including aerospace, chemicals, electronics, energy, food and beverage, health care, manufacturing, metals, and others. For more information, visit praxair.com.