Dad Helps Improve the Outlook for Children with Heart Disease
The MacCutcheon Family Foundation gives $1 million to cardiac surgery program at Children's National Medical Center
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Edwin K. Zechman, Jr., president and CEO at Children's National, Colleen MacCutcheon, Megan MacCutcheon, Jim MacCutcheon, Kurt Newman, MD, surgeon-in-chief and senior vice president at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatrics Surgical Innovation at Children's National
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James A. MacCutcheon, retired President and CEO of Sunburst Hospitality, was motivated to improve the outlook for children born with congenital heart disease when he lost his daughter, Halle, 25 years ago. "Great strides have been made in the treatment of complex congenital heart disease. We’re almost routinely saving babies here today that wouldn’t have had a chance 20 years ago," he said.
On August 2, 2010, Children's National Medical Center honored the MacCutcheon Family Foundation for their donation of $1 million to fund a state-of-the-art cardiovascular surgery operating room. The MacCutcheon Family Foundation, led by James "Jim" MacCutcheon, has supported the cardiac surgery program at Children’s National over the past 30 years, giving more than $1.3 million during that time.
The MacCutcheon Family Foundation leadership and Children's National leadership were on hand to celebrate the newly constructed space. Edwin K. Zechman, Jr., president and CEO at Children’s National said, "Because of the generosity of families like the MacCutcheons, Children's National Heart Institute is one of the most rapidly growing pediatric cardiac surgical programs in the country."
MacCutcheon said, "Children's National's pediatric cardiac programs have attained world class status and I am proud to be able to be a small part of that."
Children's National Heart Institute’s Cardiac Surgery team is led by Richard Jonas, MD, a pioneer in complex congenital heart surgery and early primary repair. The institute cares for some of the most complex cases in the world, and has one of the best success rates for cardiac surgery in the nation. Children's cardiac surgeons perform more than 500 cardiac surgeries on infants, children, and adolescents each year.
In addition to funding the MacCutcheon Family Foundation Cardiovascular Surgery Operating Room, which features highly integrated technology and state-of-the-art surgical equipment designed to care for even the most complex cardiac patient, Mr. MacCutcheon also funded the Halle MacCutcheon Playroom on the Heart and Kidney Unit of Children's National in 2006 and served as chairman of the board at Children's National from 1997 to 2000.
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