The Schars donate $75 million to Inova

Dwight and Martha Schar announced a $75 million gift on May 23 to upgrade the Heart and Vascular Institute at the Inova Fairfax Hospital campus.

The funds will be used to grow specialty services; focus on research, outreach, prevention, and early diagnosis; recruit and retain top healthcare talent; and promote health equity across Northern Virginia.

The institute will be renamed the Inova Schar Heart and Vascular Institute.

“Countless lives will be transformed by this remarkable gift as it allows Inova to push the boundaries of medical research, innovation, and patient care,” said Inova President and CEO J. Stephen Jones.

“We are grateful for this generous donation by Dwight and Martha Schar,” Jones said. “It will have a lasting impact on heart health and will accelerate the trajectory of our mission to provide world-class healthcare to everyone, in every community we have the privilege to serve – one heartbeat at a time.”

Dwight Schar is the founder and retired chair of NVR Inc., a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest homebuilders in the country. NVR builds homes under the names Ryan Homes, NVHomes, Rymarc, and Fox Ridge Homes in 14 states.

The Schars have already given or pledged more than $126 million to Inova Health System since 1993, including a $50 million gift in 2015 to establish the Inova Schar Cancer Institute.

“The investment Martha and I made to support Inova’s vision for a world-class cancer center was one of the best investments of my life,” Dwight Schar said.

“Having the very best cancer care here in Northern Virginia has provided thousands of families facing a cancer diagnosis the ability to receive life-saving care close to home. And now we’re hoping to do the same for heart health,” he said.

Seeking to expand the impact of their latest gift, the Schars are challenging the Northern Virginia community to match their pledge over the next year.

“This gift will allow us to increase the use of novel state-of-the-art technology and innovative platforms to deliver personalized care and to prevent disease progression,” said Dr. Christopher O’Connor, president of the Inova Schar Heart and Vascular Institute. 

The investment will help Inova build innovative, highly effective, multidisciplinary team-based programs in:

• Advanced heart failure and lung disease care to reduce the need for heart and lung transplants and improve outcomes.
• Minimally invasive cardiac surgery and interventions to reduce the length of hospital stays, improve the quality of life, and significantly reduce recovery time.
• Vascular medicine and surgery innovations to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, critical blockage of arteries in the lower limbs, and limb amputations.
• Women’s heart health to focus on the leading cause of death in women.
• Wellness and prevention, to address health equity and provide education and increased access.

Heart and vascular diseases are the number one cause of death in the U.S., O’Connor said. Someone has a heart attack every 45 seconds. Heart failure is most common among people over 65 and people in underserved communities, including those in Northern Virginia.

He anticipates Inova will become the best place for care in Virginia and will draw patients from across the region and even across the country.

In developing an innovative platform approach, O’Connor said, “We will be able to predict and prevent disease progression through artificial intelligence and predictive data analytics and deliver this care in a very efficient fashion.”

Inova will continue to study the use of digital strategies, robotics, and remote monitoring.

For example, he asked the audience to imagine the development of a small band-aid that you put on the back of your neck that monitors your heart rate, blood pressure, EKG, blood glucose, and blood cholesterol. The data would be analyzed at Inova and the patients would get a health report every morning.  

“We believe in the power of a single act of generosity to spark a wave of transformation,” said Sage Bolte, chief philanthropy officer and president of the Inova Health Foundation. “Our hope is that with this gift, the Schars will be a catalyst for change, inspiring others to join in contributing to the advancement of healthcare and propelling medical innovation and world-class care.”