Horchow family gift boosts research and care at O’Donnell Brain Institute

By Sharon Reynolds 

Three generations of the Horchow family have received outstanding health care at UT Southwestern – and they couldn’t be more appreciative. As longtime supporters and collaborators, members of the family have committed more than $4.3 million to the Medical Center. Their latest contribution of $500,000 will be used to help build the third tower of William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, currently under construction, to expand brain care through the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.

Supporting brain disorder initiatives is very important to Roger Horchow – now more than ever.

“I have several good friends with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s devastating to see them deteriorate before my eyes,” Mr. Horchow said. “It’s extremely important that my family and I do anything we can to help find the causes of these diseases, and hopefully one day a cure. Through my involvement with UT Southwestern, I have always been so impressed with the science, the faculty, and the way they care for people – it’s extraordinary.”

The expansion of Clements University Hospital will help meet growing patient demand with the addition of a 12-story tower, scheduled to open in the fall of 2020. The tower will serve as the clinical home for the O’Donnell Brain Institute, consolidate inpatient neurological services currently provided at Zale Lipshy Pavilion – William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, expand the Emergency Department, and add operating rooms, interventional suites, and two parking facilities.

“The need for specialty care in North Texas and the surrounding states has grown even faster than expected when we recently planned Clements University Hospital. The expansion will enable us to serve the increasing number of patients seeking care at UT Southwestern,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern. “We are deeply grateful for our long-standing partnership with the Horchow family, whose generosity and active involvement continues to touch many areas across our campus. The family’s concern for the well-being of others is truly inspiring.”

Mr. Horchow is eternally grateful for the cancer treatment his late wife, Carolyn, received at UT Southwestern’s Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. Their daughters, Lizzie Routman, Regen Fearon, and Sally Horchow, are involved in UT Southwestern’s annual Women’s Health Symposium, which Carolyn co-founded in 1999 and is dedicated to her memory.

Since 1997, Ms. Routman has been a member of the Southwestern Medical Foundation Board of Trustees – UT Southwestern’s philanthropic partner – and she is just now concluding her service as the inaugural Chair of the UT Southwestern President’s Advisory Board (PAB). She was drawn to the PAB position because she thought it would be a perfect way to give back to an institution that has provided so much for her family and the community.

“I think it’s important for people in our community to know how lucky they are to have access to an institution like UT Southwestern. It has been an honor to have the chance to meet the doctors and scientists who are making life-changing discoveries and transforming patient care here in Dallas and around the world, and my involvement with the PAB brings it all to life,” Ms. Routman said.

As Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs, Dr. John Warner oversees the Medical Center’s clinical health operations and is committed to constantly improving and expanding access for patients across clinical settings.

“The O’Donnell Brain Institute continues to develop, thanks to the generosity of philanthropic partners like the Horchow family,” Dr. Warner said. “Our goal to expand UT Southwestern’s national leadership in neuroscience research and care will benefit patients today and for generations to come.”

Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

Dr. Warner holds the Jim and Norma Smith Distinguished Chair for Interventional Cardiology, and the Nancy and Jeremy Halbreich, Susan and Theodore Strauss Professorship in Cardiology.