Pictured: Jerry and Karen Kolschowsky and Dr. Fiorica. Photo courtesy of SMH.

A $25 million gift from the Gerald A. and Karen A. Kolschowsky Foundation is the latest in a series of family donations spurring transformative research and drawing top-tier physicians to Sarasota Memorial Health Care System (SMH) and the southwest Florida region. Jerry and Karen Kolschowsky and their family foundation have been quietly helping the community-owned health system expand its education and research programs for nearly 20 years. The Kolschowskys, who live most of the year in Sarasota, Fla., have partnered with Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation and Sarasota Memorial Health Care System to support its vision to create an innovative research and education environment that appeals to physician researchers and brings leading-edge treatments and specialists to the region. The Kolschowskys’ support has already led to transformative changes that have elevated the quality of care in the Suncoast community for generations to come, said Sarasota Memorial CEO David Verinder. In today’s announcement, Verinder noted the Kolschowsky’s latest $25 million donation was the catalyst that allowed SMH to break ground on a new, $75 million Research and Education Institute this past June. By lending their name to the building, the Kolschowskys hope to inspire other philanthropists to fund community hospital research initiatives and clinical advances. When it opens in 2025, the 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 Institute will offer a range of education programs and state-of-the-art simulation center that expands hands-on training opportunities for physicians, nurses and students mastering new treatments and technologies. Advanced cancer care provided by Sarasota Memorial Chief Medical Officer James Fiorica, MD influenced the Kolschowskys’ decision to support the cancer research program he leads. Karen Kolschowsky still gets teary-eyed when she talks about the life-saving care and surgical advances Dr. Fiorica and the cancer team used to treat her cancer 15 years ago. Sarasota Memorial’s research and graduate medical education programs have tripled in size in recent years, with more than 50 active studies under way and thousands of physicians competing for residency and fellowship opportunities at SMH each year. To date, nearly half of the resident physicians who completed training at Sarasota Memorial have stayed and established practices here, and nearly 70% have remained in Florida. During the pandemic, the Kolschowsky’s funding provided critical resources that ensured Sarasota Memorial was equipped and ready to participate in pivotal clinical trials and studies. SMH’s research team and frontline physicians were among select testing sites that were able to give local patients access to potentially life-saving monoclonal antibodies and emerging treatments for COVID-19, before treatments became more widely available.  

Pictured: Jerry and Karen Kolschowsky and Dr. Fiorica. Photo courtesy of SMH.

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