National Jewish Health and Jefferson Health Announce Creation of Jane and Leonard Korman Respiratory Institute in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA and DENVER, April 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Jefferson Health in Philadelphia and National Jewish Health, the nation's leading respiratory hospital, based in Denver, Colorado, announced an agreement to create the Jane and Leonard Korman Respiratory Institute in Philadelphia. The Institute is enabled by the continuing support of the Jane and Leonard Korman Family Foundation. The collaboration leverages the strengths of each organization and will define best practices for treatment and research of pulmonary and related diseases including COPD, asthma, interstitial lung disease, sarcoidosis and infectious respiratory diseases. The Respiratory Institute is expected to open this summer, with additional locations anticipated across Jefferson Health's regional campuses.

One in four Americans suffers from serious chronic or life threatening respiratory diseases, which cause millions of deaths, send patients to emergency rooms, and severely impact quality of life each and every day. National Jewish Health is the leading and only institution dedicated to research and treatment of respiratory disease, treating both adults and children. Jefferson Health is reimagining health care for the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey, with 23,000 people dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate care for patients and discovering new treatments and therapies to define the future of care. Together, Jefferson Health and National Jewish Health bring an extraordinary level of expertise in addressing complex respiratory illnesses.

"This is a model for how organizations can work together to deliver more value to our patients by providing the right care in the communities we serve," said Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., MBA, President and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health. "Our partnership will transform the way pulmonary care is delivered, and we are looking forward to being part of a growing collaborative dedicated to the treatment and research of pulmonary and related diseases."

"Teaming up with a visionary health care organization like Jefferson Health extends the extraordinary respiratory network National Jewish Health is creating with world class partners," said Michael Salem, M.D., President and CEO of National Jewish Health. "This new relationship and the physicians and researchers who will be working together, will help many more patients in the Philadelphia area and throughout the Northeast."

"My wife, Jane, and I know what it's like to live with a disease that threatens something as fundamental to life as your breathing," said Leonard Korman. "It's been our dream to help provide a premier resource for respiratory health for the community. Thanks to Jefferson and National Jewish Health, it's becoming a reality."

The Respiratory Institute will provide a unique and deep patient care experience tailored for Jefferson Health. The Respiratory Institute also will focus on a research network, bringing together investigators to advance care for complex respiratory diseases.

In addition, the Jane and Leonard Korman Respiratory Institute will be integrated with the Respiratory Institute that National Jewish Health and Mount Sinai in New York established in 2014. Together, these three entities will collaborate on research, clinical trials and other programs that will serve patients throughout the Northeast in an unparalleled respiratory network. 

"Many people take breathing for granted, until they can't. Respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD affect millions of people in the United States," said Richard Martin, M.D., Chair of Medicine at National Jewish Health. "Through this collaboration, we look forward to extending our work in providing multidisciplinary, outcomes-driven specialty programs that are based in a tradition of clinical and research excellence. The work we do makes a difference in people's lives, and we are excited to come together to reach more people."

"The Jane and Leonard Korman Respiratory Institute will give us the opportunity to improve the lives of thousands of patients with respiratory diseases by offering customized treatment protocols and breakthrough research," said Gregory Kane, M.D., the Jane and Leonard Korman Professor of Pulmonary Medicine and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Jefferson. "We are grateful to Jane, Leonard and their family for their vision and support that will allow us to move forward on this journey with our colleagues at National Jewish Health who bring exceptional expertise and experience to this critical area."

About Jefferson 
Jefferson, through its academic and clinical entities of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, including Abington Health and Aria Health, is reimagining health care for the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Jefferson has 23,000 people dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients, educating the health professionals of tomorrow, and discovering new treatments and therapies to define the future of care. With a university and hospital that date back to 1824, today Jefferson is comprised of six colleges, nine hospitals, 34 outpatient and urgent care locations, and a multitude of physician practices throughout the region, serving more than 100,000 inpatients, 373,000 emergency patients and 2.2 million outpatients annually.

About National Jewish Health
National Jewish Health is the leading respiratory hospital in the nation. Founded 118 years ago as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish Health today is the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to groundbreaking medical research and treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders. Patients and families come to National Jewish Health from around the world to receive cutting-edge, comprehensive and coordinated care. To learn more, visit www.njhealth.org.

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SOURCE National Jewish Health