About Edward L. Dardanell

More than 30 years ago, Edward L. Dardanell helped establish the first hospital in the rapidly growing eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, led the charge to raise $5 million in support, and headed the committee that eventually named the hospital Forbes Health Center. Without the help of Mr. Dardanell, The Western Pennsylvania Hospital — Forbes Regional Campus would not exist in the capacity it does today.

Mr. Dardanell served on the Board of Directors of the former Columbia Hospital of Wilkinsburg, which in the late 1970s was realizing declining numbers of patients in a residential community that was not experiencing growth. Mr. Dardanell noted that the eastern suburbs were growing at a rate far exceeding other areas of Pittsburgh.

An effort was organized by Mr. Dardanell to build a new hospital. A site was identified in Monroeville near the Turnpike in an area that at the time was a baseball field.

In 2003, Forbes Regional reinstituted the Forbes Health Foundation and Foundation Board of Directors, on which Mr. Dardanell served as a member and today still serves as an advisory member. In 2004, he again assumed the leadership role in making a difference in the eastern suburbs by serving as honorary chairman of the Capital Campaign for three projects at Forbes — a new Emergency Department, a new Women's and Infants' Care Center and an advanced heart and surgery center. All of these projects helped to further advance The Western Pennsylvania Hospital — Forbes Regional Campus' mission to provide quality health care to the residents of eastern Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

Mr. Dardanell's generous gift of $1 million to The Western Pennsylvania Hospital — Forbes Regional Campus helped bring advanced cardiac care closer to home for area residents. We thank Mr. Dardanell for his generous donation and are proud to have The Ed Dardanell Heart and Vascular Center named in his honor.