Elaine and Sydney Sussman

Gift supports state-of-the-art facility for lifesaving procedures in interventional cardiology

Not long ago, being diagnosed with a heart condition meant facing definite limitations on quality of life and life expectancy. When considering open heart surgery as a treatment option, patients and their physicians had to weigh the risks of such an invasive procedure.

“I believe supporting the institutions that keep us healthy is one of the best ways to give back to our great society.”

Sydney Sussman

Thanks to the generosity of Elaine and Sydney Sussman, University of Miami Hospital is now equipped to repair complex cardiac conditions without even opening a patient’s chest. The Elaine and Sydney Sussman Cardiac Catheterization Lab is a state-of-the-art facility where interventional cardiologists, heart surgeons, and nurses work as a tight-knit team to diagnose problems and perform lifesaving procedures ranging from angioplasty to aortic valve replacement. The lab contains advanced imaging equipment and robotic technology for superb accuracy.

“I believe supporting the institutions that keep us healthy is one of the best ways to give back to our great society,” says Sydney Sussman, a businessman in the steel and real estate industries.

The Sussman family has also provided major support for the University of Miami’s multidisciplinary Crohn’s and Colitis Center, which provides compassionate care for those living with inflammatory bowel disease.

Along with daughters Andrea and Robin and son Jeffrey, the Sussmans are longtime supporters of health care, education, and Jewish causes. Their gifts to support cardiovascular and gastroenterological medicine at UHealth comprise their largest gifts to an institution to date.

Member of Gables Giving Society

Sussman Cardiac Lab
The Elaine and Sydney Sussman Cardiac Catheterization Lab, which unveiled a new hybrid catheterization laboratory in fall 2011, is a state-of-the-art facility for lifesaving procedures performed by physicians such as interventional cardiologist William O'Neill, executive dean for clinical affairs at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.