BARRINGTON, Ill., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- When the new cardiac care center at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital opens its doors in March 2005, it will honor a Barrington family’s philanthropic commitment to bring advanced cardiovascular care services to the community.
“In recognition of their generosity, the new center for heart care excellence at Good Shepherd Hospital will be named The Wayne and Patricia Kocourek Family Cardiac Care Center,” announced Karen Lambert, president, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. “With this gift, the Kocoureks have expressed their passionate commitment to bring advanced cardiac care services to the heart of our community, just when we need it most. We will honor their gift by delivering the most heartfelt care medical technology and experience can deliver.”
The Kocourek Family recently made a $5 million gift toward the development of the hospital’s $33 million cardiac care center. This is the largest individual contribution ever made to the Advocate Charitable Foundation or Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. Other significant gifts to-date include a $1.075 million commitment from the Good Shepherd Auxiliary, and $1-million gifts from the Paul and Barbara Hills family and the Frank and Mary Morgan family.
“We are thankful to have the opportunity to contribute to Good Shepherd’s campaign to improve the heart health of our neighbors,” said Mr. Wayne Kocourek. “To best care for this community, we want to ensure that this facility is supported in its plans to deliver outstanding cardiovascular care. In making this gift, we were encouraged by a very high standard of performance at Good Shepherd.
“Our introduction to cardiac services was through my wife Patricia’s own cardiovascular emergency. The skillful care of her cardiologist, Dr. George Christy, opened our eyes to the critical importance of local, advanced cardiac care services. Our experience with Dr. Christy, along with all that we have since learned, convinced us that Good Shepherd has all the right components and people in place to deliver a highly-successful cardiac program.”
The Kocourek Family credit Dr. Christy, for encouraging a lifelong connection with cardiac care: “If it were not for Dr. Christy’s attentive care and impressive skill set, we would never have made an emotional and philanthropic connection with the Cardiac Care Center at Good Shepherd Hospital.”
Fundraising, development milestones just one year after cardiac expansion approved
A significant milestone in the development of the cardiac center at Good Shepherd, the naming of the facility comes less than one year from the groundbreaking ceremony, and just 15 months since the pivotal Certificate of Need application for a cardiac catheterization lab and open heart surgery suite was approved by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
Once complete, the 54,000-square-foot center will house a complete continuum of heart care from community education, preventive care and state-of-the-art diagnostics to advanced interventional techniques and open-heart surgery services. The expansion will also include private patient care rooms, a cardiac intensive care unit, family consultation rooms, and patient and community education space.
Although expected completion is ten months away, The Wayne and Patricia Kocourek Family Cardiac Care Center has already named physicians, clinicians and nurses to the senior staff ranks. The surgical support staff has recently completed immersion training in advanced heart procedures at Good Shepherd’s sister hospital, Advocate Christ Medical Center, which performs the most open heart procedures in northern Illinois. There are 30 cardiologists on the Center’s medical staff, including 13 certified interventional specialists. The team will use advanced diagnostic equipment, including a custom-tailored rotational angiogram, digital subtraction technology and intravascular ultrasound. Cardiologists at Good Shepherd are already experienced and certified in advanced interventional techniques and therapies, including angioplasty, cutting balloons, atherectomy, angiojet and drug-coated stenting.
Good Shepherd also recently named Pat Pappas, MD, to the role of Medical Director for Cardiovascular Surgery. Dr. Pappas was recently named one of the top U.S. surgeons by Healthgrades (2003). The open heart surgery program at Good Shepherd is designed and advanced by nine surgeons who together performed more than 1,700 open heart surgeries in 2003.
“We are bringing the Good Shepherd community local access to a level of experience and technology which rivals that of downtown, university-level medical centers,” said Dr. Pappas. “The people in this community fought hard to bring advanced cardiovascular services to their hospital so that it is local and accessible when they need it most. We have designed a heart center which delivers not just emergency intervention, but the capabilities to deliver top-tier patient outcomes.”
Kocourek Gift supports Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant
The Kocourek gift comes at an optimal moment in the hospital’s development. In December 2003, the Advocate Charitable Foundation accepted the Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant on behalf of Good Shepherd Hospital’s new cardiac center. To earn the $850,000 grant, the Kresge Foundation stipulates that Good Shepherd must significantly and permanently broaden its donor base by reaching out to 50,000 potential contributors and stimulate giving throughout the community. To date, nearly 1,000 donors have contributed more than $10 million toward the facility. All charitable funds received for the center will be applied toward the $33 million project cost.
Responding to the recent community fund-raising challenge, the Kocoureks were inspired to expand their personal interest in heart health to make a major contribution toward bringing advanced cardiac care to their local community. In the event of a cardiac emergency, the American College of Cardiology guidelines indicate that no more than one to two hours should pass before catheterization is completed. Because every second counts, Good Shepherd Hospital has committed to bringing the best in cardiac care to the 480,000 residents of its service area, most of whom currently live 30 to 45 minutes from the nearest cardiac catheterization facility.
A motivational gift
“With so many of us at risk for heart disease, we believe we should invest in advancing heart care in our hometown, here at Good Shepherd Hospital. We hope our gift might motivate others to see a physician to assess their risk for cardiovascular disease, and perhaps even join the community fund-raising campaign,” explained Mr. Kocourek.
Dr. Christy, an interventional cardiologist from Midwest Heart Specialists, will be on staff at Good Shepherd: “With cardiovascular disease still the no. 1 killer of Americans, coupled with an aging demographic picture, we need to make prevention, diagnostics, and emergency care our priorities. The Kocoureks recognized the need for a local cardiac care center and responded generously. We are all grateful for their support.”
The result of a hard-fought, grass roots campaign to bring advanced cardiac care to the Good Shepherd community, The Wayne and Patricia Kocourek Family Cardiac Care Center will continue its appeal for fund-raising support. “This community rallies behind important causes and we know that many of our neighbors and area residents are eager to make a difference by supporting this center for heart care. We owe it to our children, Michael and Pamela, and we owe it to our community,” said Mr. Kocourek.
“As a nonprofit hospital reliant on community support, a contribution of this magnitude is a compelling statement in support of our fundraising campaign for a cardiac care center,” explained Karen Lambert, president, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. “The Kocoureks have taken a leadership role in this initiative and Good Shepherd is pleased to recognize their generosity for years to come.”
Celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2004, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital ( http://www.advocatehealth.com/gshp ) is located in Barrington and serves more than 480,000 residents in the communities of Algonquin, Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Fox River Grove, Island Lake, Lake-in-the-Hills, Lake Zurich, McHenry, Palatine and Wauconda. The hospital is a 146-bed health care facility with 540 physicians representing 35 medical specialties. The hospital is a state-designated Level II trauma center and Level II “plus” birth center. Good Shepherd Hospital also includes a medical-model health & fitness center. The non-profit hospital is part of Oak Brook-based Advocate Health Care, the largest health care provider in Illinois. Advocate has ranked among the nation’s top 10 health care systems for six consecutive years.
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
CONTACT: Heather Gates of Good Shepherd Hospital, +1-847-381-0123,x5057, or Anne Waliczek of Freelance Partners, +1-847-382-2095
