Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Gift Supports Care for Patients at Mayo Clinic

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

ROCHESTER, Minn. — In 1996, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, generously paid for the medical and surgical care of four Mayo Clinic patients from the United States after learning of their financial needs. In that spirit, and in gratitude for the care he received during that same period, Sheikh Zayed has provided a major gift to help provide state-of-the-art facilities for current and future generations of Mayo Clinic patients.

"We gratefully accept this gift from Sheikh Zayed as an expression of his support for Mayo Clinic's mission of providing the finest medical care to all peoples of all creeds from all the countries of the world," says Hugh Smith, M.D., chair of the Mayo Clinic Rochester Board of Governors. "As one of our founders, Dr. William J. Mayo, said, 'All classes of patients, without regard to race or creed, social or financial standing, receive necessary care without discrimination.'"

Sheikh Zayed's current gift is the completion of a pledge he made to Mayo Clinic in 1996.

In recognition of His Highness' extraordinary pattern of generosity to patients at Mayo Clinic, the Mayo Clinic Zayed Cardiovascular Center will be named in his honor and recognized on the 6th floor of the Mayo Building.

Mayo Clinic has recently invested significantly in its practice integration project for cardiovascular care, which includes new or remodeled space and equipment for outpatient consultations, nuclear cardiology, echocardiography, ECG and cardiac catheterization. Sheikh Zayed's gift helps Mayo Clinic invest in these patient care improvements while maintaining its commitment to research that advances treatment for patients everywhere.

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To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.