Brevard Heart Foundation

In September 1957, five citizens of Brevard County met to discuss the creation of a loan fund for cardiac patients unable to pay the cost of medical treatment. Using contributions given in memory of William H. Hodgeman, the loan fund was established at the trust department of the Bank of Melbourne.

The founding group was chartered as the Brevard Heart Association, Inc. on January 13, 1958, renamed Brevard Heart Loan Fund in April 1959, and then to identify with its philanthropic principles, renamed the Brevard Heart Foundation on April 28, 1965.

It was chartered by the State of Florida as a not-for-profit corporation to promote quality medical care in Brevard County.

Dr. Ralph E. Balch, M.D., a founder of the American College of Surgeons, joined the Brevard Heart Foundation Board of Directors in 1959. Upon his death in 1967 he left the Foundation a sizeable bequest. In 1999 the Foundation received a large grant from the Katherine H. Uhler estate.

Between 1959 and 1965, the Foundation worked with the county health department to fill the gap in  medical services for poor and needy patients.

The Brevard Heart Foundation sponsored the first pacemaker implant at Brevard Hospital (now Holmes Regional Medical Center) on October 26, 1968. The training and experience derived from this successful operation has led the way for many lifesaving implants provided today.

The Brevard Heart Foundation, Inc. supports only projects and people residing in Brevard County, Florida.