Timothy Gardner honored with Harrington Award for Service

The Trustees of Christiana Care Health System honored Timothy J. Gardner, M.D., medical director of the Center for Heart & Vascular Health, with the 2017 Charles J. Harrington Award for Distinguished Service. Dr. Gardner will retire as medical director in 2018.

Recruited in 2005 to launch and lead the Center for Heart & Vascular Health, Dr. Gardner established Christiana Care Health System as a regional center for excellence in cardiovascular medicine, recruiting top faculty from around the country, building and expanding cardiovascular programs.

“With Dr. Gardner as medical director, the Center for Heart & Vascular Health has advanced clinical care, research, teaching and innovation in ways that are exemplary in our community and in our nation,” said Chair of Trustees Penny T. Saridakis.

A nationally known clinical leader, physician and surgeon, Dr. Gardner created innovative, effective systems of heart and vascular care that are of great value to patients and to the field of medicine. These include the most innovative treatment options and therapies available — many of which he brought to Delaware and expanded with excellent faculty and innovative technology.

Dr. Gardner has advanced clinical outcomes research to ensure excellence in quality, safety, performance and value. He also has served as inaugural executive director of Christiana Care’s Value Institute, which conducts research on today’s most pressing health care issues.

A highly respected leader and adviser to the most influential associations and societies in the field, Dr. Gardner served as president of the American Heart Association and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Gardner’s academic contributions include more than 200 scientific papers and multiple landmark texts.

“Dr. Gardner’s leadership has transformed heart and vascular care in Delaware and nationally,” Saridakis said. “The Trustees are thrilled to honor this giant of cardiovascular health with the Harrington Award.”

The Harrington Award was first presented in 1996 to its namesake, the late director emeritus of the Christiana Care Board of Directors and former Christiana Care trustee who was a strong proponent of service and the importance of philanthropy. Recent honorees include John R. Cochran III; Patricia M. Curtin, M.D., FACP, CMD, chief of Geriatric Medicine; and the Junior Board of Christiana Care Inc.

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