The Kroll Family: A lasting heart health legacy at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center®

The profound impact of St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center ® on the Kroll family began unexpectedly on a summer day in 1987, when Janet Kroll had to rush her husband Jerome to the emergency room. They had recently moved back to Long Island and were expecting guests for lunch and a dip in the community pool. “We were very excited, and lo and behold, at noontime, I took Jerome to St. Francis with a heart attack,” says Janet. They quickly realized that the hospital situated practically in their backyard was not just close, but also clinically excellent. “We fell in love with the caregivers, both the doctors and nursing staff. I remember thinking, ‘Aren’t we the lucky ones?’” Janet recalls.

Deeply moved by the exceptional medical care and nurturing nursing staff that allowed Jerome to safely return home—and later saved his life again with a quadruple bypass in 1994—the Krolls became lifelong champions of St. Francis. Their commitment culminated in providing the funds to establish the St. Francis Kroll Family Center for Heart Failure and Circulatory Support.

This pivotal gift helped bring Edward Lundy, MD, PhD, to the hospital in 2013, where he established the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Program. Specialists use LVAD for advanced heart failure and as a bridge-to-transplant when a patient is waiting for a heart transplant.

Since Jerome’s passing in 2017, Janet has passed on this connection to her adult children, who remain involved and accompanied Kroll to the program’s 10th anniversary celebration, ensuring the Kroll family legacy remains an irreplaceable piece of their identity. Janet hopes the connection to St. Francis will remain special for everyone in her family. “There are other places, but nothing replaces our St. Francis,” she says.