Naming of Paul F. Harron, Jr. Lung Center at Penn Medicine |
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October 14, 2014, Volume 61, No. 09 |
A $10 million gift to the University of Pennsylvania to name the Paul F. Harron, Jr. Lung Center will pay tribute to the late broadcast and cable television pioneer and bolster Penn Medicine’s efforts in providing the most advanced diagnosis and treatment of chronic lung disorders, the University announced. The gift was made by relatives of Mr. Harron, who died of lung disease in 2005, and honors his commitment to support the University’s lung center.
“Paul was a very kind and generous person. Even when he was ill, he thought about helping others. This is a most fitting way to honor Paul’s memory,” said Mr. Harron’s sister, Patricia Imbesi.
Millions of Americans suffer from chronic lung conditions, and each year nearly 400,000 Americans die of lung disease, including lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary fibrosis.
“The Harron Center naming gift has provided funding for the physical space of the center, endowed two department chairs, delivered essential research support and enabled us to offer one-stop convenience to our patients,” said John Hansen-Flaschen, chief of pulmonary, allergy and critical care medicine, who also serves as medical director of the Center.
Previously known simply as the Penn Lung Center, the Paul F. Harron, Jr. Lung Center, located in the Ruth and Raymond Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, unites pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, pathologists and radiologists, allowing patients to meet all of their care needs in one location. “The Harron Center is unique in offering radiology services in the same suite with thoracic surgeons and pulmonary medicine specialists,” said John Kucharczuk, chief of thoracic surgery and surgical director of the Center. “Thanks to Mr. Harron’s family, Penn has realized a long-held dream of supporting translational research and promoting the most efficient and personalized care for patients with chronic lung disease,” Dr. Hansen-Flaschen added.
Paul F. Harron, Jr. was president of his family’s media company Harron Communications Corp. Early on, he recognized the potential of cable television, and expanded Harron Communications from 30,000 subscribers in two states to over 300,000 subscribers across seven states. Harron Communications Corp. was sold in 1999 to Adelphia Communications, but Mr. Harron remained actively involved and deeply committed to the cable television industry through his involvement and ownership in MetroCast Communications, a privately-owned cable TV provider. Mr. Harron was also a founding board member of C-SPAN and was posthumously inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2010.
“My uncle Paul was very impressed with the work of the Penn Lung Center. Speaking for my sisters, Jennifer Bruder Lavin and Margaret Anne Nolen, we are thrilled that this innovative center will now bear his name,” said Mr. Harron’s nephew James J. Bruder, Jr., CEO at Harron Communications.
A multidisciplinary hub for the diagnosis and treatment of lung disorders, the Paul F. Harron, Jr. Lung Center has doubled the number of patients seen in the last seven years and is the newest center within Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, the nation’s first medical school, celebrating 250 years in 2015. |