CHARLOTTE, N.C., November 6, 2017 – Carolinas HealthCare System announced today a $1 million commitment from the Mattei Foundation to launch the Mattei Cardiovascular Innovations Fund. The fund will support the latest in innovative medicine, research, cutting-edge technology, and healthcare delivery at Carolinas HealthCare System’s Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute.
In recognition of the gift, the newly renovated Cardiothoracic Surgery Intensive Care Unit within the Institute has been named in honor of the Mattei family. The 14-bed unit provides 24-hour inpatient care to adult and geriatric patients requiring intensive care and recovery from cardiac procedures.
“Transformational gifts like these enable Carolinas HealthCare System to provide health, hope and healing to at-risk populations and help to change and save the lives of those with chronic diseases,” said Gene Woods, President and CEO of Carolinas HealthCare System. “We certainly cannot do this work alone, so thanks to the Mattei family, we’ll continue to move beyond traditional methods and develop new solutions to better care for our patients and community.”
The Mattei Foundation has provided extensive philanthropic support for chronic disease management at Carolinas HealthCare System for over 15 years. Grateful for the care Mary Louise Mattei, mother of Charlotte businessman Jim Mattei, received at Carolinas Medical Center, the Mattei family has honored her memory by supporting programs for the medically at-risk.
In 2002, Jim Mattei’s $1 million contribution established the Mary Mattei Institute for the Treatment of Chronic Disease at Carolinas Medical Center and helped expand its staff. Treatment protocols developed by the Institute attained notable success among diabetes and congestive heart failure patients and have since been adapted to other patient populations within Carolinas HealthCare System.
Additional substantial gifts by Jim’s son Scott Mattei, as Trustee of the Mattei Foundation, in 2007 and 2011 helped sustain the Institute and expanded its programs to include prevention initiatives for patients who are at risk for chronic disease.
“We are honored to continue support for an institution that is dedicated to helping patients control and prevent potentially fatal diseases,” said Jim Mattei, whose family’s cumulative gifts to Carolinas HealthCare System now top $4 million. “It is our desire to help make a significant impact and to ensure that people from all walks of life have access to quality care.”
The most recent gift from the Mattei Foundation will have a powerful effect on the technology and treatment options offered at Sanger, where physicians are expanding beyond the traditional methods to diagnose complex heart conditions, utilizing cardiac CT and MRI to assess the heart’s structure and function and supercomputer analysis to analyze its blood flow.
“We are ushering in a new era of coronary diagnosis and treatment,” said Geoffrey Rose MD, Chief of the Division of Cardiology at the Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, “one in which genetic evaluation, advanced imaging techniques, stem cell therapies, and an arsenal of minimally invasive techniques will afford even better health outcomes—along with the promise of an overall lowering of health care costs.”
As an initial project supported by the Mattei Fund, Sanger will advance its cardiac MRI imaging infrastructure to enable further collaboration with other cardiac MRI centers of excellence. Sanger performs over 750 cardiac MRIs each year, an imaging technique that provides invaluable information for those with complex heart disorders.
“This support from the Mattei Foundation will be instrumental to our program,” said Dr. Rose. “It will better enable us to pursue newer treatments, approaches that are aimed towards attaining not only longer life but also higher quality of life for all patients.”
Carolinas HealthCare System, one of the nation’s leading and most innovative healthcare organizations, provides a full spectrum of healthcare and wellness programs throughout North and South Carolina. Its diverse network of care locations includes academic medical centers, hospitals, freestanding emergency departments, physician practices, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health agencies, nursing homes and behavioral health centers, as well as hospice and palliative care services. Carolinas HealthCare System works to enhance the overall health and wellbeing of its communities through high quality patient care, education and research programs, and numerous collaborative partnerships and initiatives.
Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute
With more than 90 physicians and 25 care locations in the Carolinas, Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute is the region’s most comprehensive and experienced cardiovascular institute, and has been providing expert cardiovascular care for more than 50 years. Sanger offers comprehensive care from preventive screenings to vascular surgery and medicine to minimally-invasive cardiothoracic surgeries. It also houses the region’s only heart transplantation program and offers complex pediatric cardiothoracic surgeries, with quality outcomes that rank among the best in the nation.
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