BOSTON – The American Heart Association is pleased to recognize Newton-Wellesley Hospital President Michael R. Jaff, DO, and Boston Scientific CEO Michael Mahoney, as the co-chairs of the 2019 Boston Heart and Stroke Ball.
As co-chairs of this annual campaign, Jaff and Mahoney are making a lasting health impact not only in Greater Boston, but also around the world. Under their leadership, the American Heart Association’s Heart and Stroke Ball is raising funds to educate families on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, fighting to ensure our communities have the highest quality of care and finding cures for heart disease and stroke.
Jaff and Mahoney have dedicated their careers to ensuring that more families can experience life’s best moments together.
Globally recognized as an expert in vascular medicine, Jaff became president of Newton-Wellesley Hospital in 2016. Under his leadership, Newton-Wellesley has implemented innovative programs that focus on exceeding patient expectations and ensuring a high quality of care. This includes establishing an innovation task force led by the hospital’s first chief medical and innovation officer, as well as partnering with internationally renowned design thinking firm IDEO over the last year to reimagine how patients experience health care.
Jaff is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He was trained in internal medicine and vascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, before beginning his career in private practice in community hospitals, including the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Prior to joining Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Jaff served as the inaugural Paul and Phyllis Fireman Endowed Chair of Vascular Medicine and medical director of the Fireman Vascular Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. He lives in Chestnut Hill with his wife, Debra, and has two adult children. He enjoys music, golf and photography.
During his seven-year tenure as chairman and CEO of Boston Scientific, Mahoney has helped deliver on the company’s mission to transform lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. Under his leadership, Boston Scientific has brought transformational medical devices to market. The company’s team of more than 32,000 global employees reaches 30 million patients each year, providing a range of technologies and solutions spanning cardiovascular, electrophysiology, endoscopy, neuromodulation and urology and pelvic health.
Mahoney has been in the medical device, capital equipment and healthcare IT businesses for nearly 30 years. Prior to Boston Scientific, he served as worldwide chairman of the medical devices and diagnostics division of Johnson & Johnson. Before that, he was president and chief executive officer of Global Healthcare Exchange. Mahoney earned his BBA in Finance from the University of Iowa and his MBA from Wake Forest University. He is married with three children.
Mahoney, who is a member of the American Heart Association CEO roundtable, called the Association’s efforts to eliminate health disparities in Greater Boston “a cause close to all of us at Boston Scientific.”
“Lack of consistent access to education and healthcare has been shown to lead to significant disparities in life expectancy for residents of Boston neighborhoods, with some data reporting a 33-year difference between Back Bay and Roxbury residents,” said Mahoney. “The American Heart Association is leading work to provide education and prevention, blood pressure screenings, CPR training, and access to healthy food in the areas that need it most.”
Jaff, who is a fellow of the American Heart Association and has been involved for over 15 years in local, regional and national advocacy efforts, credited the organization with educating people on the importance of making smart choices that will help them live longer, healthier lives.
“I am honored to co-chair this year’s Boston Heart and Stroke Ball in support of the amazing work of the American Heart Association and its lifesaving mission to eradicate cardiovascular disease,” said Jaff. “As a practicing vascular medicine physician, I know first-hand the importance of educating cardiac and stroke patients about risk factors and prevention and the tremendous impact it can have on saving lives.”
The Boston Heart and Stroke Ball will be held on Saturday, May 4, at the Westin Boston Waterfront. It will bring together nearly 500 of Boston’s most prominent business, health care and community leaders.
For more than 50 years, Heart and Stroke Balls have been raising vital funds to support the mission of the American Heart Association to ensure its research and community efforts continue to save lives.
More than 170 Heart and Stroke Ball campaigns take place across the country each year, raising $80 million and engaging over 100,000 thought leaders. These campaigns are more than just another event. They are a campaign meant to give supporters the opportunity to celebrate the work of the American Heart Association, as well as become a part of the organization’s relentless force in the fight against heart disease and stroke.