University Hospital Foundation raises $400,000 and honors Dr. Michael Curi at its annual Golf Classic

University Hospital Foundation held its annual Golf Classic at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, New Jersey on September 30th to raise funds for a new operating room. The event, which included a round of golf and evening cocktail reception, honored Dr. Michael Curi, Chief of Vascular Surgery and Immediate Past Chair of the Foundation, for his selfless support of the Foundation’s mission and commitment to teaching the next generation of medical professionals.

This year’s event successfully raised $400,000 for a new, state-of-the-art operating room equipped with sophisticated imaging technology that will increase surgical accuracy and reduce the amount of time patients undergo complex operating procedures. Importantly, these rooms, known clinically as hybrid operating rooms, improve patient outcomes as they allow surgeons to perform imaging, biopsy, diagnosis, and surgery in the same room without moving a patient between an imaging suite and operating room.

“We are grateful to our Board of Trustees, our event sponsors, and the individuals who supported us. Together, we work tirelessly to ensure health equity is a reality for all of our patients, who travel from near and far to be cared for at University Hospital.” We are committed to bringing our vision of this new operating room to life,” said Jessica Backofen, Chief Development Officer of University Hospital. “Dr. Michael Curi is one of the most skilled and talented vascular surgeons and who cares deeply about his patients and is committed to teaching the next generation of top vascular surgeons.”

One of Dr. Curi’s patients, John Gilfillan, joined the event and shared that Dr. Curi is “brilliant. He is an absolute maestro of vascular surgery, and he helps people. And if it weren’t for him, who knows? I might not be here at this time, enjoying my new grandchildren, or standing up in front of you. A man like that does this many times over and helps a lot of people. It’s an honor to be one of them and I wear it all like a badge of courage.”

Since its inception in 2012, the Golf Classic has raised funds for a plethora of University Hospital projects including new ambulances, patient assistance programs, a lobby renovation, and more.

“There’s something special about being an academic medical center. It’s not the building. It is the talent of the faculty that work there every day. It’s the talent of the trainees that are coming out to be the next generation of physicians,” said Ed Jimenez, President and CEO of University Hospital. “It’s the science that they work on towards discovery. It’s a special stratosphere, and I have a front row seat to greatness every day.”

The Golf Classic’s top sponsors included Shields Healthcare Solutions, O’Conco, and 11:11 Systems. Many other organizations and individuals contributed their time, effort, and funds to make the event a success.