A fundraiser supporting cardiac services at Lankenau Medical Center will bring donors and community members to Llanerch Country Club in Havertown on Sept. 26.
The John B. Deaver Auxiliary of the Lankenau Medical Center Women's Board is hosting the annual "Celebration for a Cause," which will honor two figures in Lankenau's cardiac care history: Alfred W. Putnam Jr. and Dr. Maribel Hernandez. The event page lists cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a silent auction starting at 6 p.m., with dinner stations at 7:30 p.m.
Putnam joined the Lankenau Medical Center Foundation Board in 1988 and became its chair in 1996, according to a July 16 Main Line Health announcement. He stepped down from the role in September after 30 years. During his tenure, the campus added a 246,000-square-foot Heart Pavilion as part of a $500 million renovation completed in 2013 and a $53 million emergency department expansion finished in 2020. Peter Havens will succeed him as chair.
His grandfather, Alfred Putnam Sr., served as Lankenau's ninth president from 1949 to 1964.
"Lankenau and its physicians and staff remain committed to the highest quality of medicine and research and service to our community," Putnam said in the July 16 announcement. "This was so in my grandfather's day, and it's been true every day since."
Hernandez co-founded the Lankenau Heart Institute's Women's Heart Initiative and served as its medical director from 2014 to 2026, according to the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research. Under her leadership, the initiative launched "Heart to Heart Conversations," described as the first emotional support group in the Philadelphia area for women living with heart disease. She was named Distinguished Emeritus Medical Staff in Medicine and Cardiology at Main Line Health in 2026.
Joan Hindin and Kathleen O'Connor-Eicke are co-chairing the event. Sharon Steinberg serves as president of the John B. Deaver Auxiliary, which has supported the Lankenau community since 1934, according to the event's website.
Funds raised will go toward expanding cardiac services at Lankenau Medical Center, which is part of the Main Line Health system. Mainline Media News first reported on the event and its honorees.
Michael J. Morris of Wynnewood, listed as the event's top-tier "Heart of Gold" sponsor, described the fundraiser in the Mainline Media News column as a community celebration of the physicians, administrators and neighbors who contribute to treatment excellence at Lankenau.
Llanerch Country Club is at 950 West Chester Pike in Havertown. For sponsorship or donation information, residents can contact Mary Beth Catania at [email protected] or 484-476-2139.
