Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Irene Pollin—founder and chairman of Sister to Sister and widow of the late Washington, DC-area professional sports team owner Abe Pollin—has donated $10 million to Hadassah Medical Organization to establish the Linda Joy Pollin Cardiovascular Wellness Institute in Jerusalem, intended to help women combat heart disease. Pollin’s granddaughter presented the donation Oct. 18 at Hadassah’s centennial commemoration ceremony.

“Since founding Sister to Sister in Washington, D.C., I have longed to find a place outside of the United States to establish a heart disease prevention program geared toward women…Partnering with Hadassah is an obvious extension of the work we’ve been doing, of the gimmick-free, prevention-focused work that has made Sister to Sister unique. Given Hadassah’s 100 years of experience helping women of all backgrounds take better care of themselves, I could not think of a better way to reach out to our sisters across the globe than establishing the Linda Joy Pollin Institute at Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem. Heart disease knows no boundaries, and neither will we,” Pollin said.

Marcie Natan, National President of Hadassah, said “The work and treatment that will be undertaken at Hadassah Medical Organization will be critical in contributing to preventing heart disease, and the data the program will collect will be used in Israel and throughout the United States. The historical and ongoing role of Hadassah is to bring healing to people of all backgrounds.”