Heart Institute of the Caribbean founder receives award from UPenn

Ernest Madu, MD, chairman and CEO of the Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC), received the inaugural global health champion award on Sept. 15 from the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Global Health.

Madu founded HIC in Kingston, Jamaica in 2004. Since then, HIC has served as a health clinic for cardiovascular disease, occupational health, diabetes care and general internaml medicine and has provided more than $1 million in free or reduced care to its patients, according to a news release.

Madu is also the managing partner of IHS Group, an asset holding and investment management company, which has invested in healthcare and other sectors. In addition, he has published more than 100 scientific papers, according to the release.

“This award is a true honor and signifies the increased efforts from the global health community to prioritize non-communicable diseases,” Madu said in the release. “Today, cardiovascular disease is second only to HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. I look forward to a continued partnership with the Penn Center for Global Health to combat this growing epidemic and help improve the health and lives of people in need around the world.”

Tim Casey,

Executive Editor

Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.

Around the web

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."