Lisa Salberg
01-09-2008, 08:51 PM
It is my honor and privilege to in announce the 2008 L.O.R.I. Award will be awarded to Dr. Joseph Dearani at this year’s HCMA Annual Meeting. The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association’s L.O.R.I Award is named in honor of Lori Anne Flanigan, my sister, and beginning this year the awardees will be notified on this date, as it was Lori’s birthday. The HCMA was the vision of Lori; but, unfortunately, she died in 1995, at the age of 36, before seeing the HCMA turn into reality. The name L.O.R.I. stands for "Love Our Research Innovators" and serves as an honor to those who have made significant contributions to the field of HCM research.
The criteria for this award was established based, in part, on the qualities of its namesake. This award is given to recognize the contributions to the body of knowledge of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The recipient of this award must have shown courage in the face of adversity, a willingness to teach others and, above all, a passion for unraveling the mysteries of HCM. The recipient may be an individual or a group. They must participate in research and have published their findings. The Board of Directors of the HCMA vote each year on the recipient based upon their body of work and commitment to HCM.
Lori, the person, has taught thousands about HCM, not through her life or her work, but in her death. Lori displayed in her words and deeds a great caring for humanity and those less fortunate than herself. She was strong, stoic, funny and had a beautiful heart.
Dr. Dearani is the third recipient of this award and stand with a small and impressive group. The inaugural L.O.R.I. Award was presented to Barry J. Maron and the second to the Siedman Laboratory, their work speaks for itself within the HCM community. When the Board of Directors discussed this year’s nominations we looked closely at the broad body of work of the Mayo Clinic and then asked ourselves, “what is the most significant contribution to improve the quality of lives of those with HCM within this impressive body of work?” We felt it was the improvements in technique, publishing of results and commitment to the treatment of obstruction in HCM by means of myectomy that stood apart in this impressive body of work. We were aware of the significant role Dr. Gordon Danielson played in this area and his critical input into Dr. Dearani's training and wish to acknowledge his contributions during the presentation of your award. However, he was chosen not only because of his technique and commitment to the surgical intervention alone, but due to his efforts to communicate the efficacy of the treatment. Over the past few years, the HCM Community has been faced with the challenges of balancing the roles of new treatments for obstruction, specifically the alcohol septal ablation, with the known positive results from myectomy, when done in appropriate centers. In a day when innovation and what is “new” attracts a great deal of attention, it remains a challenge to balance excitement with “older”, reliable and more traditional treatments. What is most important to the HCMA is doing what is best for the patient, while providing options. While we all agree there is an appropriate place for new procedures, and many have benefited from newer approaches, the fact is that thousands of patients have experienced improvement in the quality of their lives from myectomy, many in profound ways. Dr. Dearani's efforts to ensure that myectomy receive fair; balanced and accurate reporting in the medical literature has moved this highly effective treatment back to the forefront of treatment options. Based on the significant increase in myectomies in the USA over the past three years, it is clear his efforts have been successful.
His commitment to HCM patients, contributions to the medical literature and willingness to continue to educate patients and physicians about the important role of surgical interventions in HCM sets him apart from his peers, and, for this, we are happy to name him the 2008 L.O.R.I Award recipient.
If you are planning on attending the HCMA annual meeting and have had surgery either by Dr. Dearani or another surgeon and wish to help us in a special tribute please call the office and inquire as to how you can help us make this a memorable event for everyone!
Once again - Happy Birthday Lori, you may be gone but you are not forgotten!
Sincerely,
Lisa
The criteria for this award was established based, in part, on the qualities of its namesake. This award is given to recognize the contributions to the body of knowledge of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The recipient of this award must have shown courage in the face of adversity, a willingness to teach others and, above all, a passion for unraveling the mysteries of HCM. The recipient may be an individual or a group. They must participate in research and have published their findings. The Board of Directors of the HCMA vote each year on the recipient based upon their body of work and commitment to HCM.
Lori, the person, has taught thousands about HCM, not through her life or her work, but in her death. Lori displayed in her words and deeds a great caring for humanity and those less fortunate than herself. She was strong, stoic, funny and had a beautiful heart.
Dr. Dearani is the third recipient of this award and stand with a small and impressive group. The inaugural L.O.R.I. Award was presented to Barry J. Maron and the second to the Siedman Laboratory, their work speaks for itself within the HCM community. When the Board of Directors discussed this year’s nominations we looked closely at the broad body of work of the Mayo Clinic and then asked ourselves, “what is the most significant contribution to improve the quality of lives of those with HCM within this impressive body of work?” We felt it was the improvements in technique, publishing of results and commitment to the treatment of obstruction in HCM by means of myectomy that stood apart in this impressive body of work. We were aware of the significant role Dr. Gordon Danielson played in this area and his critical input into Dr. Dearani's training and wish to acknowledge his contributions during the presentation of your award. However, he was chosen not only because of his technique and commitment to the surgical intervention alone, but due to his efforts to communicate the efficacy of the treatment. Over the past few years, the HCM Community has been faced with the challenges of balancing the roles of new treatments for obstruction, specifically the alcohol septal ablation, with the known positive results from myectomy, when done in appropriate centers. In a day when innovation and what is “new” attracts a great deal of attention, it remains a challenge to balance excitement with “older”, reliable and more traditional treatments. What is most important to the HCMA is doing what is best for the patient, while providing options. While we all agree there is an appropriate place for new procedures, and many have benefited from newer approaches, the fact is that thousands of patients have experienced improvement in the quality of their lives from myectomy, many in profound ways. Dr. Dearani's efforts to ensure that myectomy receive fair; balanced and accurate reporting in the medical literature has moved this highly effective treatment back to the forefront of treatment options. Based on the significant increase in myectomies in the USA over the past three years, it is clear his efforts have been successful.
His commitment to HCM patients, contributions to the medical literature and willingness to continue to educate patients and physicians about the important role of surgical interventions in HCM sets him apart from his peers, and, for this, we are happy to name him the 2008 L.O.R.I Award recipient.
If you are planning on attending the HCMA annual meeting and have had surgery either by Dr. Dearani or another surgeon and wish to help us in a special tribute please call the office and inquire as to how you can help us make this a memorable event for everyone!
Once again - Happy Birthday Lori, you may be gone but you are not forgotten!
Sincerely,
Lisa