The Sandra R. Berman Heart Institute at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center was officially dedicated on Tuesday evening, Aug. 30. The institute was designed to provide comprehensive, holistic heart care, with a team of specialists committed to delivering a personalized journey of care for each patient.
The institute’s namesake was surrounded by her husband, Malcolm Berman, their three sons and three daughter-in-laws, and many grandchildren, family, friends and staff of the UM Saint Joseph Medical Center.
In May of 2021, the medical center announced that its nationally recognized cardiac program would be named in honor of the Bermans.
The Bermans’ gift to UM St. Joseph represented the second largest in the Towson hospital’s 157-year history. The undisclosed gift supported the purchase and installation of the hospital’s first state-of-the-art, 256-slice CT scanner, a game-changer for quickly and accurately diagnosing critical cardiac and other life-threatening conditions. (In 1982, UM St. Joseph became the first community hospital in the state to perform open heart surgery.)
At the dedication, Sandra Berman spoke of her own heart episode, the caliber of care from the UM Saint Joseph Medical Center staff that saved her life, and about giving back to the community with new high-technology equipment. She also spoke about the importance of tzedakah, righteousness, and l’dor v’dor, from generation to generation.
Founders of the 15-year-old, Pikesville-based Sandra & Malcolm Berman Charitable Foundation, the couple are known throughout Baltimore and the region for their philanthropic support of health care organizations and other charitable endeavors.
Founders of the 15-year-old, Pikesville-based Sandra & Malcolm Berman Charitable Foundation, the couple are known throughout Baltimore and the region for their philanthropic support of health care organizations and other charitable endeavors.
“I have personally seen lives saved by the outstanding cardiac surgeons at UM St. Joseph. It is an incredible honor to have the Heart Institute named for me,” said Sandra Berman, president of the foundation and a member of the Cardiac Integrated Care Committee at UM St. Joseph.
The Berman Heart Institute provides a continuum of cardiac care that includes open heart surgery, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and a specialized TAVR procedure suite, a cardiac surgery unit, an all-digital cardiac catheterization laboratory and a 20-bed cardiac unit.
The institute is a designated Cardiac Interventional Center and an EMS Base Station by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems.
“We are profoundly grateful to the Bermans for their tremendous gift, made even more significant because of the countless lives it will save,” said Dr. Thomas B. Smyth, president and CEO of UM St. Joseph Medical Center. “Their kindness will enable UM St. Joseph to further expand our leadership in cardiac care, providing rapid diagnosis and advanced treatment for patients with complex and chronic heart issues. To have such committed partners as Sandra and Malcolm Berman at our side as we serve our patients and our community is an inestimable blessing.”
Founded in 1864 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, the UM St. Joseph Medical Center is a 218-bed Catholic, not-for-profit regional medical center.
Ray Daue, chair of the UM St. Joseph Foundation Board, called the Bermans’ gift “a momentous investment in the cardiac health of our community and will allow UM St. Joseph to continue to invest in technology, training and specialized staff that keep us on the forefront of cardiac care, bringing the most advanced options and lifesaving research to more patients than ever.”
For information about the Sandra R. Berman Heart Institute, visit umms.org/sjmc/health-services/heart-care.
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