The ACC and Cardiovascular Research Foundation have announced an innovative partnership to create the Martin B. Leon Center for Cardiovascular Transformation during last month's TCT 2020 Opening Session.

The joint venture, which falls in part under the ACC's Campaign for the Future, will fund research and education to eliminate health disparities and transform cardiovascular care.

The Leon Center is inspired by Martin B. Leon, MD, FACC, and his legacy of innovation in cardiovascular care.

The goal of the Leon Center is to inspire and grow the next generation of leaders and drive real and substantive change for the good of cardiovascular patients around the world by focusing on these four pillars:

• Addressing the impact of the pandemic on cardiovascular research and care.
• Programs to impact workforce diversity and team-based care.
• Workshops and forums to promote innovations in cardiovascular care.
• Patient advocacy and patient-centered education and research programs with a focus on underserved populations.

"To improve cardiovascular care and outcomes, we need visionary thinking and bold action. Through our joint work to create the Martin B. Leon Center for Cardiovascular Transformation, the ACC and CRF promise to deliver on that vision." said ACC President Athena Poppas, MD, FACC. "The biggest challenges require collaborative solutions, and through the Leon Center we are fostering diversity, innovative research and leadership as a springboard to a healthier future."

"Designed to foster the best ideas, encourage innovative research, and ultimately deliver transformative and global solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing our profession and our patients – the Leon Center will be as transformational as the man for which it is named," said CRF President and CEO Juan F. Granada, MD. "CRF is excited to work with the ACC on this visionary endeavor that will build on the legacy already created by Dr. Martin Leon."

For more information on the Leon Center, visit LeonCenter.org. More information on ACC's Campaign for the Future is available at ACC.org/Future.

Keywords: ACC Publications, Cardiology Magazine, Patient Advocacy, Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Accidental Falls, Pandemics, Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures, Financial Management, Health Workforce, Patient-Centered Care

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