After a combined $50 million donation, the UMHS cardiovascular center has been renamed the Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center, after the donors.
AnnArbor.com file photo
The center, now called the Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center, received its first $25 million gift from the Frankel family's foundation in 2007, although at the time it was given anonymously. Another $25 million gift from the family was just awarded to the center.
The center works to bring together specialists from several areas of UMHS to prevent, treat and study heart disease, blood vessel disorders and strokes. These specialists include cardiac surgeons, nurses and heart-imaging specialists, among others.
The couple, now deceased, also have financially supported the school's Center for Judaic Studies.
"We are just the facilitator," said Stanley Frankel, Samuel and Jean's son, said Friday. The elder Frankels graduated from University of Michigan in 1936.
The additional $25 million gift will go to support the center, financing clinical research and patient support.
"The Frankel family has decided to gift another $25 million and this will help us build on the successes of the last six years, to create a culture of total partnership," said health system CEO Ora Pescovitz.
The 2011 U.S. News and World Report's Best Hospitals ranking rates the heart and heart surgery programs at U-M No. 12 in the nation and best among Michigan hospitals.
Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.