Beverly Grove-based Cedars-Sinai Health System has received a $35 million gift from Martha and Bruce Karsh and the Karsh Family Foundation, the latest in a string of multimillion dollar gifts given to the hospital.
The latest gift included $30 million to establish the Karsh Division of Interventional Cardiology and $5 million to create the Karsh Distinguished Chair in Interventional Cardiology.
“With this gift, we aim to amplify our commitment to both our community and medical education” the family said in a statement. “Ultimately, what we hope to contribute to the world of medicine on a global scale with Cedars-Sinai is a powerful testament to what results from intention put into action.”
Interventional cardiology focuses on minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures.
The donation is in honor of Martha Karsh’s mother, Sybil Lubin, 94, who utilized interventional cardiology when a patient at the hospital. Raj Makkar, who she credits with saving her life, is the inaugural director of the Karsh Division of Interventional Cardiology and will also serve as the Karsh Distinguished Chair in Interventional Cardiology.
“Our interventional cardiology programs are available around the clock to provide urgent care to those who need it most,” Makkar said in a statement. “Thanks to the incredible generosity of the Karsh family, we not only are able to sustain this critical service but also enhance and grow it.”
“The Karsh family has an enduring commitment to transformative medicine, and they’re building an even more profound legacy of philanthropy with the Karsh Division of Interventional Cardiology,” Peter Slavin, president and chief executive of Cedars-Sinai, added. “This new gift adds to their past visionary contribution that birthed the nationally ranked Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Both enterprises address vital areas primed for innovative, groundbreaking advancements with the resources required for our patients.”
Earlier this year, Cedars-Sinai received a $100 million gift to expand its surgery department — the third nine-figure donation to the hospital in the last two years. The gift was from James and Eleanor Randall and the Randall Family Foundation.