The Foundation supports a variety of activities related to the mission of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, including research, education and capital improvements to enhance facilities and the quality of patient care at the hospital. The Foundation received nearly $10 million in donations last year.
Additionally, since its inception, more than $125 million has been committed to the Siteman Cancer Center campaign, conducted jointly by the Foundation and Washington University School of Medicine. The Siteman Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Missouri and within a 240-mile radius of St. Louis.
The event honored donors who support the hospital with annual gifts of $1,000 or more and lifetime gifts of at least $50,000. Washington University School of Medicine physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital were also recognized for their clinical research excellence.
Edith L. Wolff received the 2004 Cornerstone Award for her long-standing support of the hospital and Foundation. Wolff''s contributions to the former Jewish Hospital of St. Louis continues today as a member of Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation Cornerstone Society. Her support includes the establishment of specific funds for clinical research. In addition to her philanthropic work, she serves as president of Wolff Construction Company, which her late husband, Alan, founded in the 1940s.
Barnes-Jewish Hospital President Ronald G. Evens, MD, presented the President''s Lifetime Achievement Award to two distinguished physicians, Joel D. Cooper, MD, and Gary J. Weil, MD. "These two individuals have made truly outstanding achievements in the fields of science and medicine," said Dr. Evens.
Dr. Cooper serves as chief of the division of cardiothoracic surgery. Known nationally for his pioneering efforts, Dr. Cooper developed the lung volume reduction surgery that helps improve the quality of emphysema patients'' lives. In 1983, while in Toronto, he led the surgical team that performed the world''s first successful lung transplant.
Additionally, he has been awarded several prestigious awards over the years. Dr. Cooper received the Jacobson Innovation Award from the American College of Surgeons in 1996 for his work in lung transplantation and lung volume reduction surgery. His most recent honor was election as 2003-2004 President of the American Association of Thoracic Surgery. It is the highest honor bestowed upon a thoracic surgeon in North America.
Dr. Weil is a professor of Medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Washington University School of Medicine. He has served as an attending physician in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Barnes-Jewish Hospital since 1982. His research interests include clinical parasitology, infectious diseases and tropical medicine.
Regarded as a leading researcher in the fields of clinical parasitology and research on worm infections, Dr. Weil and his research team have developed important new tests for "filariasis" and "river blindness" in humans. He also developed a widely used test for "heartworm" infections in dogs. The heartworm research led to a patent that has greatly benefited Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the Foundation by providing funds to support additional research, teaching and patient care.
Steven B. Miller, MD, Barnes-Jewish Hospital vice president and chief medical officer, announced the 2004 clinical research grant recipients. One million dollars in grants were available to any investigator of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. The Foundation funds translational research with studies that focus on improving patient care and safety and developing new therapeutics.
This year''s awardees were Michael Chicoine, MD; John Curci, MD; Teresa Deshields, PhD; Steven Devine, MD; Matthew Dobbs, MD; Victoria Fraser, MD; Samuel Klein, MD; William Maloney, MD; Matthew Matava, MD; Jeffrey Moley, MD; Kelle Moley, MD; Randall Odem, MD; and Mark Sands, PhD.