Giving Back to Virginia’s Leading Heart Center
By mile 25 of Virginia’s Capital Trail, Ken Powell was feeling pretty good.
On a Saturday morning in June 2017, he was cycling the popular trail, a 52-mile scenic expanse that snakes along state Route 5 and connects Richmond to Williamsburg.
Powell, a retired Richmond-area lawyer, found cycling a respite for his mind and his body. No phones, no computers— just him and the open roads. He and his wife were members of a cycling club, and they had a few long-distance rides under their belts.
Then 65, Powell considered himself healthy. He’d had consults with doctors in recent years regarding his heart, but nothing that spooked him. On that summer morning, Powell recalled, he was thinking about the 100-mile trek that a friend had proposed, and he simply wanted to see if he could go even half that distance.
Approaching the 25-mile marker, somewhere in Charles City County, he turned around and headed back, pleasantly surprised with his efforts.
But on that morning, as he sped along, Powell had no idea that each revolution of those bicycle tires, every mile ticked off on the odometer was bringing him closer to a potentially life-threatening situation.
As a stroke of luck, he’d made an appointment for that following Monday to get checked by Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D., chair of surgery for the Department of Surgery at VCU Health’s Pauley Heart Center. What Dr. Kasirajan shared was shocking.
Powell’s aortic valve was not closing properly. Blood was flowing back into his heart chamber, and Powell was in grave danger of a stroke at any moment.
It’s not about a single individual, it’s the collective expertise that elevates all of us to new levels.
Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D.
Cardiac arrest, death — also possibilities.
Powell thought back just two days to those 50 miles. His mind raced with what-ifs. As someone who devoted his career to finding answers to tough questions through jurisprudence, this helplessness felt foreign.
Before that weekend, Powell admitted he had not heard of Pauley Heart Center. After, his life and Pauley would be irrevocably intertwined.
Virginia’s Top Cardiac Care Center
VCU Health Pauley Heart Center is Virginia’s leading heart center and ranks among the top 10% of heart centers nationally. The rankings stem from the 2023 Becker’s Hospital Review and US News & World Report’s annual ranking of more than 5,000 hospitals across the country in 15 specialty areas and 21 procedures and conditions.
Pauley Heart Center excels in cardiology, heart surgery and vascular surgery and specifically, heart attack treatment, heart failure treatment and heart bypass surgery. The factors behind those rankings include Pauley’s successful patient outcomes — high survival rates following surgeries — plus patient and provider access to advanced technology, and patients’ abilities to go home following surgeries rather than being sent to other facilities first.
Philanthropy has the power to jumpstart innovative and dynamic programs and initiatives.
Hem Bhardwaj, M.D.
Additionally, Pauley received the highest marks for its quality of services and for nurse staffing for patients experiencing heart attack, heart bypass and heart failure. Higher nurse-per-patient ratios result in better outcomes and overall better patient experiences.
In short, Pauley’s patients are the sickest. Their cases are the most medically complex.
Those inside say Pauley’s success stems from a patient-focused approach to care that starts at the top.
“It’s not about a single individual, it’s the collective expertise that elevates all of us to new levels,” said Dr. Kasirajan, who joined Pauley more than two decades ago. “The hierarchy is very flat and that prevents blind spots —everyone is looking out for the best interests of the patients.”
Pauley’s leadership includes Dr. Kasirajan; Greg Hundley, M.D., chair of the Department of Cardiology and director of the Pauley Heart Center; and Kenneth Ellenbogen, M.D., director of cardiac electrophysiology and pacing and a globally renowned expert.
A collaborative environment should be the norm, Dr. Kasirajan explained, though often it is not.
“There’s always a gradient of hierarchy and perceived power but it’s very important for us to be able to give others the voice and authority to speak up and that’s what makes complex care safe and improves the quality for all patients,” he said. “It starts at the top with people like Drs. Ellenbogen and Hundley articulating that as a key value that everyone buys into and we’re all part of that team.”
Hem Bhardwaj, M.D., director of imaging and vice chair of quality and operations for the Department of Cardiology, echoed Dr. Kasirajan. She came to VCU Health for a fellowship in the late 2000s and never left.
“That culture is why I stayed,” she said. “We all understand the complexity of heart disease and we all understand the impact that it has on our community — and we’re all dedicated to one mission.”
Dr. Bhardwaj explained that philanthropy plays into that mission.
“Philanthropy has the power to jumpstart innovative and dynamic programs and initiatives,” she said. As examples, she shared how gifts have provided for mobile ultrasound technology that reaches more people in the community. Educational programming like Teach BP — in which Richmond City and Hopewell City elementary students have learned how to measure their blood pressure — causes ripple effects when young people understand their health and help their loved ones.
Dr. Kasirajan explained that a single philanthropic gift funded a surgical simulation lab with highly technical operating rooms and a catheterization lab where the next generation of residents and fellows are learning.
“That’s how philanthropy directly impacts patient care and safety,” he said. Large-scale capital projects, plus attractive endowments and professorships make VCU, and Pauley, a destination for the best and the brightest.
“Ultimately, we can’t provide the best care without being able to recruit and retain talented faculty,” he said. “Bringing in faculty with unique expertise raises the bar for Pauley. The possibilities are endless, but it’s very important for us to recognize the contributions of the people who make the gifts and the value they bring to patient care – that supports all patients, and all care.”
By investing in Pauley, you’re guaranteeing that research will be done, and fellowships will bring people here.
Ken Powell
Dr. Kasirajan made a promise when he came to Pauley.
“No egos,” he said. “If someone calls at 2 in the morning, we will show up and we will be present.”
“The level of expertise that comes in at any hour when we need help is remarkable,” he said. “Nobody questions it, there are no egos. We are all in this together and it is a collegial environment that elevates patient care.”
He added: “I don’t think that experience can be replicated at many heart centers in this country,”
Grateful Patient
In 2017, Powell underwent heart valve replacement surgery. He went back to have subsequent issues addressed and continues to be seen by Dr. Ellenbogen.
Today, Powell serves on Pauley’s Advisory Board.
He’s quick to champion the institution that saved his life every chance he gets – board meetings, dinner parties, family gatherings.
“We need to recognize what we have right here in Richmond, Virginia,” Powell said. With heart disease being the leading killer of U.S. adults, more people need to be aware of Pauley before they need it and then have access to its care, he said.
They also need to invest in it.
“If many people in this country are going to die from cardiovascular issues, then cardiac research and education is probably the most important thing we can do from a health standpoint,” he said. “By investing in Pauley, you’re guaranteeing that research will be done, and fellowships will bring people here.”
From that first meeting with Dr. Kasirajan to his ongoing care, Powell said he’s always felt like he’s had the undivided attention of Pauley’s team. He said he’s worked dozens of boards around Virginia, and none match the dedication to a singular mission more than those who support Pauley.
“Pauley has a tremendous impact on the community,” he said. “There’s a genuine commitment to serve and the depth of care, the depth of research — it’s astonishing what we’re able to accomplish.”
Few noble causes remain in the world, Powell said.
“But I can’t think of anything more important than what Pauley does.”
If you would like to learn more about supporting the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center, please contact Carrie Mills Miller, senior director of development, at 804-828-0423 or millercr9@vcu.edu.
