{"id":11817,"date":"2024-02-16T07:30:58","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T07:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smhf.org\/?p=11817"},"modified":"2024-02-15T20:10:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T20:10:56","slug":"karen-and-jerry-kolschowsky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/karen-and-jerry-kolschowsky\/","title":{"rendered":"Karen and Jerry Kolschowsky"},"content":{"rendered":"

WINTER 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

A $25 million gift from the Kolschowsky family was the catalyst that allowed Sarasota Memorial to break ground on a new Research and Education Institute.<\/em><\/p>\n

The story behind this transformative gift highlights the incredible bond that is often created between a patient, a family and a dedicated team of healthcare professionals. It is a story of human connection, gratitude, and a shared commitment to making excellent healthcare available to everyone. It is a story about improving entire communities for the good of all.<\/p>\n

Fifteen years ago, after returning from a trip to Africa, Karen Kolschowsky \u201cjust didn\u2019t feel right.\u201d When her health issues persisted, a friend suggested she see James Fiorica, M.D., a gynecological oncologist who now serves as Sarasota Memorial Health Care System\u2019s chief medical officer.<\/p>\n

Dr. Fiorica determined that Karen had a very serious ovarian cancer that needed immediate attention. At the time, he didn\u2019t know who Karen and Jerry Kolschowsky were; he just knew that Karen had a very bad cancer. \u201cI went to see him on a Tuesday, the test results came back on Wednesday, and on Thursday, he performed surgery,\u201d Karen said, closing her eyes as the memories came flooding back.<\/p>\n

Karen\u2019s surgery and treatment were successful, and today, she is still cancer-free. \u201cI treated her, and she did well,\u201d Dr. Fiorica said humbly.<\/p>\n

Beyond grateful for Dr. Fiorica\u2019s expertise and compassionate care of his team, the Kolschowskys decided they needed to do more for cancer research and the advancement of medicine. \u201cLiterally, I wouldn\u2019t be here if it wasn\u2019t for Dr. Fiorica,\u201d said Karen.<\/p>\n

Karen and Jerry\u2019s relationship with Dr. Fiorica grew as they learned more about his research. They decided to fund a year of his research. They recall receiving a lot of information about his clinical trials and drugs he was testing. Much like Dr. Fiorica guiding the couple through Karen\u2019s cancer journey, Karen and Jerry became involved in Dr. Fiorica\u2019s research journey.<\/p>\n

While their initial donations supported SMH\u2019s cancer research initiatives, the Kolschowskys decided to broaden their focus to include other medical specialties and clinical education.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur personal philosophy is that education informs research, but research also informs education,\u201d said Jerry. \u201cIt works both ways, and you can\u2019t really do one without the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Fiorica connected the couple with Richard Brown, M.D., medical director at SMH\u2019s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, and other leaders about developing programs. Later, the couple met with the Healthcare Foundation, asking, \u201cHow can we help?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir support has been strategic and purposeful,\u201d Sarasota Memorial Health Care System President and CEO David Verinder said.
\n\u201cOver the years, their donations have helped SMH expand its education and research team and participate in groundbreaking studies that bring new technologies, new specialists and the latest treatment options to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opening in 2025, Sarasota Memorial’s Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute will be a state-of-the-art training and research center that expands research and training opportunities for physicians and clinicians caring for patients throughout the region. In addition to supporting clinical trials and research studies, the Kolschowsky Institute will offer a range of education programs, including a state-of-the-art simulation center that expands hands-on training opportunities for physicians, nurses and students mastering new treatments and technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are beyond grateful for Kolschowskys\u2019 generosity,\u201d said Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation President Stacey Corley. \u201cTheir gift is a wonderful example of how the relationship between a physician and a grateful patient can translate into an initiative that will benefit our community well into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kolschowskys typically prefer to give anonymously but agreed to lend their name to the new facility to demonstrate their unwavering trust in SMH to meet its goals. Their hope is to inspire other philanthropists to fund SMH research initiatives and clinical advances.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Watch the Kolschowsky’e story and learn more about the Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WINTER 2024 A $25 million gift from the Kolschowsky family was the catalyst that allowed Sarasota Memorial to break ground on a new Research and Education Institute. The story behind this transformative gift highlights the incredible bond that is often created between a patient, a family and a dedicated team of healthcare professionals. It is...","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donor-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11817"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11830,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11817\/revisions\/11830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hub.coffee\/smhf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}