The American Heart Association announces that Steven Frisch, M.D., senior executive vice president for the Integrated Delivery System at Albany Medical Center; Angelo Calbone, president and CEO of Saratoga Hospital; and Jay Cahalan, president and CEO of Columbia Memorial Health, will receive the Donald Led Duke Heart Hero Award at the Capital Region Heart Ball on Feb. 25 at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs.
“The Donald Led Duke Heart Hero Award recalls the many contributions that Donald Led Duke, founder of BBL Construction, made to the Capital Region,” said John Guastella, executive director of the American Heart Association. “His work helped grow and improve the area we call home. A heart attack took him from us too soon, and the American Heart Association is proud to honor community leaders with an award in his name.”
Frisch, Calbone and Cahalan have worked to bring Albany Medical Center, Saratoga Hospital and Columbia Memorial Health together to improve the medical care offered in the Capital Region.
“Health care is front and center in today’s news,” Guastella said. “The American Heart Association’s mission is to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, and the work that Dr. Frisch, Mr. Calbone and Mr. Cahalan have done provides strategic and efficient health care to the community. We’re especially pleased to see the expansion of cardiac care into different parts of the Capital Region, as Albany Med, Saratoga Hospital and Columbia Memorial work together on cardiovascular care. This is a big step forward in fighting the nation’s No. 1 killer, heart disease.”
“I’m truly honored to join Angelo Calbone and Jay Cahalan in receiving the Donald Led Duke Heart Hero Award from the American Heart Association,” said Steven Frisch, M.D., senior executive vice president for the Integrated Delivery System at Albany Medical Center. “Albany Medical Center is known regionally for our leading-edge cardiac services, pioneering research in preventing heart attacks and strokes, and delivering
quality, compassionate care. The finalization of our affiliation with Saratoga Hospital and Columbia Memorial Hospital will allow all three health care organizations to collaborate in a number of areas, one of which will be to further advance the provision of cardiac care in our shared communities.”
“It is indeed an honor to receive the Donald Led Duke Heart Hero Award along with Dr. Frisch and Jay Cahalan. Perhaps just as important is to recognize the truly remarkable potential of how our three hospitals will collaborate going forward to benefit the entire Capital Region,” said Angelo Calbone, president and chief executive officer at Saratoga Hospital. “This partnership will save lives. That’s a bold statement, but true. In the very near future, Saratoga Hospital will be announcing a new emergency cardiology initiative that will transform cardiac care for the greater Saratoga region. This is a direct result of working collaboratively. As vital as this program is for our community, it would not have been possible to achieve without our new working relationship. This partnership shines a light on the bright future of patient care for our shared community, for many years to come.”
“On behalf of Columbia Memorial Health and our 1,400 CMH team members, it is certainly an honor to receive the Donald Led Duke Heart Hero Award alongside my innovative and community-focused colleagues Angelo Calbone and Dr. Steven Frisch,” said Columbia Memorial Health President & CEO Jay P. Cahalan. “The collaboration that this award celebrates is a groundbreaking model for the creation of an integrated healthcare delivery network that is already enhancing local access to advanced cardiology services. As an aligned network of care, Albany Med, CMH and Saratoga Hospital are well positioned to pursue our shared commitment to saving lives, improving the health status of our communities, and developing a more efficient health care delivery system. We look forward to bringing additional cardiologists with specialized training in electrophysiology and congestive heart failure to the CMH campus, which results in the convenience of expanded services close to home.”
“It’s exciting to honor these three community leaders,” said Dan Pickett, president and CEO of nfrastructure and chair of the 2017 Capital Region Heart Ball. “This affiliation will provide great benefits to all of us who live in the Capital Region. Day to day, physicians are the real heroes, and these three men have provided a structure that lets them do their work in the best possible way. Like the American Heart Association, they are working to save lives. It will be great to recognize them at the Heart Ball.”