HR1224 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1224 LRB094 19934 HSS 57236 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of this Body are happy to recognize citizens of this State who have made outstanding contributions to society; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Valluvan Jeevanandam is the Chief of the Section of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Chicago; he specializes in the surgical management of heart failure and is an expert in high-risk cardiac surgery; he has performed more than 650 heart transplants and numerous cardiac surgery procedures, including transmyocardial laser revascularization, complex valve reconstruction, and minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery; and

WHEREAS, He has a special interest in treating patients traditionally considered inoperable; he has repaired damaged hearts in several patients awaiting transplant, enabling those patients to forgo transplantation; he also has successfully performed transplants involving patients who do not fit the standard criteria for transplant; and

WHEREAS, He is board certified in cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, and general surgery; he attended Columbia University School of Medicine for medical school and completed his surgical residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center; his fellowship was in transplantation & cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center; and

WHEREAS, He was a John Jay Scholar from 1976 to 1979; is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Lambda Upsilon (Chemistry Honor Society); he received the Rudin Achievement Award from 1980 to 1984, the NIH Junior Research Award in 1984, the Janeway Prize for Excellence in Medicine in 1984, the Whipple Award for Excellence in Surgery in 1984, and the J. Rudin Award for Achievement in Physiology in 1994; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Jeevanandam is a pioneer in the field of mechanical circulatory assist devices; in October 2000, he was the first surgeon in the world to successfully implant the CardioVAD, a revolutionary, permanent circulatory assist device that boosts heart function in patients with severe heart failure who are not candidates for transplant; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize and commend Dr. Valluvan Jeevanandam, M.D., for a life and career that has been devoted to helping people, many of whom were thought to be beyond help; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to him as an expression of our gratitude for the great work that he does in our State.