Hospital Dedicates Praxair Regional

Heart And Vascular Center

DANBURY — Danbury Hospital formally dedicated its Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular Center on May 22, recognizing a $4 million gift by Praxair Foundation Inc. to name the center and to support advanced cardiovascular care for the region. This largest corporate foundation gift ever received by the hospital follows an accelerated year of progress to establish open heart surgery and angioplasty programs to serve the community. 

Speaking to a crowd of more than 250 health professionals, benefactors, legislators, grateful patients and community residents, Governor M. Jodi Rell, said, “Danbury Hospital has overcome many daunting obstacles to ensure that its community is served with the highest level of care possible. The hospital successfully engaged its many constituents to demonstrate community health needs and dramatically improved access to advanced cardiac care to save lives.”

Frank J. Kelly, president and CEO, Danbury Hospital and Danbury Health Systems, said, “We have made paramount investments to treat and manage cardiovascular disease 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.”

Dennis H. Reilley, chairman and CEO, Praxair Inc., said, “Danbury Hospital has been a high-quality resource for the region for many years, and has achieved its goal to improve access to timely heart and vascular care. After witnessing the hospital’s successful efforts to establish programs for open heart surgery, angioplasty and advanced vascular care, we were 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. We believe that our support to address this leading killer offers an important opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives,” Mr Reilley continued.

The hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit, the cardiac medical step-down unit, the cardiothoracic step-down unit and the non-invasive cardiology ambulatory care services – all part of the Regional Heart and Vascular Center – will bear the Praxair name. 

The team at Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular Center has already completed several hundred open heart procedures and angioplasties in Danbury with superior results, building on their expertise performing thousands of procedures at major metropolitan medical centers.

“It’s no longer enough to tell the community we have a full-service cardiovascular program.  Our team is exceptional and their results are outstanding,” said Paul B. Iannini, MD, chairman, department of medicine. “This outstanding gift reflects a strong level of civic awareness and a demonstrated corporate concern for the residents of western Connecticut and nearby New York. We are honored to have such significant assistance toward the realization of our plans to become and remain the regional leader for cardiovascular care and the overwhelming provider of choice for our community.”