New York medical professor receives American Heart Association Chairman’s Award for volunteerism

DALLAS, Nov. 18 – The American Heart Association today presented its Chairman’s Award honoring excellence in volunteer service to Ileana Piña, M.D., M.P.H., of Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York.

The award cited Piña “for her tireless devotion to the American Heart Association and to the advancement of its strategic goals, with special personal focus on achieving optimal and equal heart-health benefits for all members of a diverse population.”

Piña, associate chief of Cardiology at Montefiore and professor of medicine & epidemiology and population health at Einstein, received the award during the opening ceremonies of the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2013 at the Dallas Convention Center. AHA Board Chairman Bernard P. Dennis of Sudbury, MA, presented the award, a citation and $1,000 honorarium.

“A busy physician, teacher and researcher, Dr. Piña personifies inexhaustible volunteerism at it finest,” Dennis said in presenting the award.  “Despite a demanding schedule, she finds time to spend countless hours promoting the Association’s mission in a great variety of ways.”

Piña has represented the association on numerous task forces and advisory panels, and has been a “highly effective” Advocacy Ambassador, concentrating especially on furthering the association’s strategic efforts to eradicate disparities in health care and promote cardiovascular wellness among racial and ethnic minorities, he said.

Tireless in her direct patient care efforts while keeping focus on association goals and programs locally, Piña has provided excellent clinical care, often for inner-city patients, in Miami, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and now in the Bronx, New York, Dennis said.

A native of Havana, Cuba, Piña received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Miami in 1976. She currently is principal investigator for 11 ongoing research projects and provides clinical care with a focus on heart failure and the development of multidisciplinary clinical interventions to improve patient rehabilitation outcomes.