The American University of Beirut Medical Center has received a major gift from the Moufid Farra Foundation, represented by the family of the late Moufid Farra (1932-2011), to advance its heart and vascular outpatient services for 8,000 patients who suffer from heart and vascular disorders annually.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Lebanon.

In recognition of the gift, AUBMC will establish “The Moufid Farra Heart and Vascular Outpatient Center,” which will occupy an entire floor of the medical center’s new Academic Clinical Center (Daniel ACC). The Moufid Farra Heart and Vascular Outpatient Center, with its 17 clinics, will specialize in three major services: cardiology, cardiothoracic and vascular services. It will offer a wide array of outpatient services that include diagnostic and follow-up care and non-invasive procedure rooms, such as an EKG/holter room, stress echo rooms, and a hypertension room for BP monitoring, pulse wave velocity, and sphygmo-core.

Moufid Farra, a successful international businessman, was an AUB alumnus (BBA 1958) and a long-time donor to AUB. His donations have helped rebuild College Hall as well as support the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, the Center for Advanced Mathematical Sciences, and the Brave Heart Fund among others.

The gift, presented to AUBMC by the Farra family, will help fund the construction of the outpatient center and the purchase of state-of-the-art technology, as well as support academic programs related to cardiovascular specialties. The gift will also support the education of students pursuing a degree in medicine and fellows specializing in cardiology. The center will further advance AUBMC’s comprehensive patient-centered cardiovascular care, its superior education and innovative research, and training for physicians and health care professionals.

Moufid Farra’s three children, Hazem, Karim, and Dalia Farra Kalo, along with his widow Mona Naamani Farra, affirmed their commitment to AUBMC at a ceremony attended by family members and senior leadership from AUB and the medical center, including American University of Beirut Trustee David Bickers, chair of the Medicine and Health Committee; AUB President Peter Dorman; and Dr. Mohamed Sayegh, AUB’s vice president for medical affairs.

“Today, the Farra family is continuing Moufid’s legacy by honoring his wishes to support education and health care for the benefit of our wider community,” said AUB President Peter Dorman, in his opening remarks. “The Farra family has recognized the promise of this new Academic and Clinical Center and what it will do to serve the interests of the people of Lebanon and the region – by providing the highest level of patient care and to prepare the next generation of medical professionals.”

As part of the AUBMC 2020 Vision, a comprehensive expansion plan and upgrade of services and medical care, the nine-story Academic and Clinical Center (Daniel ACC) will house numerous ultramodern outpatient clinics and three modern educational centers.

Dr. Sayegh commended the Farra family for its commitment to the battle against heart and vascular disease. “It is only with the dedication, support, and generosity of families such as the Farras that we can achieve our ambitious AUBMC 2020 Vision that will take medical care in the region to new heights of excellence never seen before,” he said.

Describing his father as a man committed to excellence, ethics, and philanthropy even after his passing away, Hazem Farra spoke on behalf of the family. “His legacy will remain not by a name on a wall but by the way he lived his life,” Farra said. “We look forward to the completion of this project and to the opening of the heart and vascular floor in the name of Moufid Farra: a man with a big heart, a man with a heart of gold, a man who touched and won so many hearts.”

Ground was broken last year for the Academic and Clinical Center (ACC) at a ceremony held under the patronage and in the presence of Lebanese President Michel Sleiman.

The new 30,000-square-meter Daniel ACC building will enhance AUB’s clinical, academic and research capabilities and will create an environment that enables high-performance academic medicine. The building is expected to be completed in 2015. Daniel ACC will be the first facility in the region to simultaneously focus on patient care, education and research. It is a landmark step towards the realization of the AUBMC 2020 Vision, and it aligns with the medical center’s mission to achieve the highest standards of academics and patient-centered care.