DATE: Friday, October 10, 1997              TAG: 9710100656

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   49 lines

NORFOLK HEART PATIENT REWARDS CLINIC WITH GIFT

A Norfolk heart transplant patient and his wife have decided to give something back to the clinic that saved his life.

George M. and Linda H. Kaufman have bestowed a multimillion-dollar gift on the Cleveland Clinic, an Ohio medical center known for its pioneering work in treating heart problems. The money will help create the Kaufman Center for Heart Failure at the clinic.

Kaufman said he came to appreciate the clinic when he received a heart transplant there in 1995. An illness had led to years of declining function, until his heart was working at less than 10 percent of its normal level.

``They have an outstanding group of doctors and facilities,'' Kaufman said. The Cleveland Clinic has been rated the best cardiac care center in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.

The Kaufman Center will be devoted to three areas:

Basic research into the workings of the heart and the mechanics of heart failure.

The study of established and unconventional surgery, including transplants and the use of implanted medical devices.

The study of nonsurgical ways to prevent and treat heart failure.

The center also will host the Cleveland Clinic's Heart Failure Summit, which brings together medical experts from around the world.

``The treatment of congestive heart failure is one of the greatest medical challenges in America today,'' said Dr. James Young, co-director of the new center, in a prepared statement. ``The comprehensive approach we can offer by the creation of the Kaufman Center might help us turn the deadly tide of this disease.''

George and Linda Kaufman are lifelong Norfolk residents.

George Kaufman is board chairman of Virginia Investors, a real estate investment group. He founded the Guest Quarters chain of all-suite hotels.

The Kaufmans are art collectors and have been involved in many cultural activities, including service on the boards and committees of many arts organizations. Both are on the National Gallery of Art's collectors committee and Linda Kaufman is a member of the Chrysler Museum of Art's board of trustees.

The Kaufman Mall at Old Dominion University and Kaufman Hall at Ohef Sholom Temple are named for them as are the Kaufman President's Chair at the University of Virginia and the Kaufman Chair at Old Dominion. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

George Kaufman

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