 The first of several large donations was made in 1994 by the late South Bay auto dealer Vasek Polak and included $1.2 million to Torrance Memorial Medical Center's Breast Diagnostic Center. Torrance Memorial recognized the generosity of the donation by dedicating the medical center's Breast Diagnostic Center to Polak and his late wife, Anna Maria. Including a new pledge made in 2000, donations made in the names of Vasek and Anna Maria Polak total $3.7 million. The Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Breast Diagnostic Center was the area's first private mammography center to be accredited by the American College of Radiology.A generous contribution by the Vasek Polak Institute, Inc. has made it possible for Torrance Memorial Medical Center to establish a dedicated medical research program.
While the medical center has participated in clinical studies before, the Vasek Polak Research Program allows for even greater involvement in medical research.
In its third year, the Vasek Polak Research Program has been actively establishing the foundation for ongoing clinical trials in various areas including the treatment of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The Program was established to honor the benevolent wishes of its namesake, successful South Bay businessman and philanthropist Vasek Polak. The Co-Directors of his charitable foundation have graciously provided funding to the medical center to bring valuable and potentially life-saving studies to benefit people around the world.
These same Co-Directors, Soterios Menzelos and Jeffrey Bucher, have been charitable to the medical center in other ways. Over the last several years, generous gifts have funded the expansion of the mammography services at The Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Breast Diagnostic Center and supported the growth of diagnostic radiology services at the Polak Imaging Pavilion, both located at 3275 Skypark Drive. [more info] |
