Large new donation from Bruce and Robbi Toll to ‘change the face of cardiovascular care’

Jefferson Health has received what it is calling a “transformational” gift from the Bruce and Robbi Toll Foundation to establish the Bruce and Robbi Toll Heart and Vascular Institute.

The amount of the record-setting donation is being kept confidential.

The new program, Jefferson officials said Wednesday, will “change the face of cardiovascular care across the region.” It will establish an infrastructure to combine all cardiac and vascular services across the health system — encompassing the divisions of cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular medicine and vascular surgery — to “enhance collaboration among care teams, streamline the patient experience, and increase access to promising clinical trials.”

The institute will also promote cross-disciplinary research and education across divisions, disciplines, and clinical sites.

Jefferson estimates the institute will connect nearly 300 cardiac practitioners who currently care for more 10,000 patients in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey.

“The Toll family’s incredibly generous commitment will provide robust support for Jefferson’s cardiac physicians, researchers, and staff, and will help advance important work on cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Joseph G. Cacchione, CEO of Jefferson, in a statement. “The impact of their generosity will be felt across our region for generations to come.”

Dr. Baligh R. Yehia, president of Jefferson Health, noted heart disease continues to be a leading cause of death locally, in the United States and around the world.

”It is imperative that we increase access to cardiovascular care across Jefferson’s growing health system,” said Yehia, also in a statement. “The Bruce and Robbi Toll Heart and Vascular Institute is an opportunity to do just that. By uniting our cardiac and vascular services, we can ensure that a patient receives the right intervention at the right time — whether in the hospital, the community clinic, the home, or anywhere in between.”

Bruce Toll, a trustee at Jefferson Abington Hospital for more than four decades, is the co-founder of Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) and owner of the real estate development and management firm BET Investments of Dresher. He and his wife previously provided gifts used to establish the Toll Pavilion at Abington Hospital and the Asplundh Cancer Pavilion in Willow Grove.

Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, which is in the process of merging with Lehigh Valley Health Network, operates 17 hospitals in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey.