Redmond P. Burke (born 4 November 1958) is an American congenital heart surgeon, innovator, software developer, author, inventor, and founder of The Congenital Heart Institute at Miami Children's Hospital in Miami, Florida. He starred in the ABC pilot television show '' The Miracle Workers''. Burke has been recognized as one of the world's most innovative surgeons, and for his use of information technology to improve surgical outcomes.

Biography

Redmond Burke was born in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, to a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

flight navigator, Redmond Joseph Burke, and his wife Claire Lorraine Burke, both from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California. In 1995, he married Kim Horstman, a registered nurse from Strongsville, Ohio, and they have three daughters - Olivia, Noelle, and Grace. Olivia is an undergraduate at The University of Miami. Noelle a senior at Ransom Everglades High School, and Grace is attending the middle school. Redmondchristinefootball

Burke and his three younger sisters, Alannah Radke, Claire Chinn, and Christine Jaeger, grew up in

Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,8 ...

, California. He was educated in public schools - Portal Elementary School, John F. Kennedy Junior High School, and Monta Vista High School, where he co-captained the varsity wrestling and Championship football teams, and won the Outstanding Wrestler award at the Central Coast Section Championships in 1976. Burke placed fifth at 165 pounds, in the California State Wrestling Championships that year. Burke's influential coaches included Patrick Lovell, Ron Edwards, Dave Vierra, Rudy Lapera, and Duane "Buck" Shore. Accepted at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, Brown University and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, he attended Stanford University, majoring in

human biology Human biology is an interdisciplinary area of academic study that examines humans through the influences and interplay of many diverse fields such as genetics, evolution, physiology, anatomy, epidemiology, anthropology, ecology, nutrition, populat ...

. Notable instructors included

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfre ...

winners,

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific top ...

in biochemistry and Arthur Schawlow in physics. He walked on and made the Stanford varsity football team as a freshman under NFL Hall of Fame coach

Jack Christiansen John LeRoy Christiansen (December 20, 1928 – June 29, 1986) was an American professional football player who became a college and pro coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions as a safety an ...

. Burke co-captained the varsity rugby team, touring New Zealand and Canada, where he played wing forward. He graduated with Honors and Distinction, with election to the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

honor society. Burke attended medical school at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

from 1980 to 1984. Influential instructors included Hardy Hendren, Paul Buttenweiser,

Judah Folkman Moses Judah Folkman (February 24, 1933 – January 14, 2008) was an American medical scientist best known for his research on tumor angiogenesis, the process by which a tumor attracts blood vessels to nourish itself and sustain its existence. H ...

, and

winner

Baruj Benacerraf Baruj Benacerraf (; October 29, 1920 – August 2, 2011) was a Venezuelan-American immunologist, who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the "discovery of the major histocompatibility complex genes which encode cell s ...

. Nicholas Tilney taught a course in aseptic surgical technique to Harvard Medical students, and was a mentor. Burke was a student observer for the first heart transplants in New England, performed by Professor John J. Collins, at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Burke was selected for General Surgical Residency Training at the

Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...

, under then Surgeon in Chief John A. Mannick MD, Mosely Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. The Brigham surgical training philosophy was "see one, do one, teach one." The intense five-year program was notable for a rigorous call schedule - every other night in the hospital - with routine 120-hour work weeks. Notable instructors included

Winner Joseph Murray, who performed the world's first kidney transplant, and David J. Sugarbaker, who performed the first lung transplants at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. In 1989, after completing general surgery training at the Brigham, and in preparation for cardiac surgery training, Burke spent a year as a research fellow at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

, in the Spectroscopy Laboratory, under

Michael Stephen Feld Michael S. Feld (November 11, 1940 – April 10, 2010) was an American physicist, who was best known for his work on quantum optics, and medical applications of lasers. Biography Michael S. Feld received his Ph.D.MIT under the supervision of la ...

, PhD. Burke developed the idea that

Laser-induced fluorescence Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) or laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) is a spectroscopic method in which an atom or molecule is excited to a higher energy level by the absorption of laser light followed by spontaneous emission of light. It was ...

spectroscopy could be used to diagnose rejection in transplanted cardiac tissue, thereby avoiding the need for traumatic biopsies. Burke was selected for cardiac surgery training at the

, under program director

Lawrence H. Cohn Lawrence H. Cohn, (March 11, 1937 – January 9, 2016) was an American-born pioneering cardiac surgeon, researcher, and medical educator. He had been on the surgical staff at Harvard Medical School since 1971 and had been a Professor of Surge ...

. He spent six months as the Chief Resident in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery under Professor Aldo Castaneda, and attending surgeons, Richard Jonas MD, John Mayer MD, and Frank Hanley MD. When Hanley accepted the position of Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It co ...

, Burke was offered his position, and he joined the

Children's Hospital Boston Boston Children's Hospital formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2012 is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical S ...

attending staff in 1992, becoming an Instructor in Surgery at the

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...

Boston

Castaneda encouraged Burke to develop a research interest. He explored the possibility of using endoscopic surgical techniques for congenital heart surgery, designing instruments and techniques in the laboratory. He began clinical applications in 1993, subsequently performing a series of surgical firsts, including the world's first endoscopic vascular ring division, diaphragm plication, and thoracic duct ligation. Burke became a recognized expert in the field of minimally invasive pediatric cardiac surgery. He developed thoracoscopic surgical instruments with engineers from Pilling Weck, Inc. Burke and Craig Lillehei, an attending pediatric surgeon, also performed the first three pediatric Heart-Lung Transplantations in New England, with the help of colleagues from the Brigham and Women's Hospital including Malcolm Decamp, and Sari Aranki. In early 1995, Castaneda retired, and Burke was invited to interview for a position as Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at Miami Children's Hospital in Miami, Florida.

Miami

At age 36, Burke became the Chief of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery at Miami Children's Hospital. Miami Children's Hospital is now The Nicklaus Children's Hospital, named after world-renowned golfer and philanthropist

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...

. Building on lessons learned in Boston and Silicon Valley, Burke's program was designed around two key principles: #Reduce the trauma of care for each patient over their lifetime. #Leverage the power of information technology to improve medical outcomes.

Reducing surgical trauma

In an effort to reduce cumulative therapeutic trauma, the Miami team unified the efforts of cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists, attempting to develop less invasive treatments for a broad range of congenital heart defects. Beginning in 1996, Burke and the interventional cardiology team at Miami Children's Hospital published a series of hybrid approaches, where the surgeons operated in the catheterization laboratory, and the cardiologists performed interventions in the operating room. Many of these procedures used the video assisted thoracoscopic techniques Burke developed in Boston. Burke and associate surgeon Robert Hannan worked with their Director of Perfusion, Jorge W. Ojito, to develop a less traumatic

cardiopulmonary bypass Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a technique in which a machine temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery, maintaining the circulation of blood and oxygen to the body. The CPB pump itself is often referred to as a ...

technique. They also designed a miniaturized Cardiopulmonary Support circuit, allowing critically ill patients to be transported by plane, helicopter or ambulance over great distances on full heart lung bypass. In 2007, Burke and Zahn, at Miami Children's partnered with cardiac teams in Boston and New York in the first US trial of the

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...

Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve, which allowed patients with pulmonary valve disease to have their valves replaced without surgery. Burke performed the first open tricuspid valve replacement on a patient with a transcatheter valve after the patient developed severe early onset endocarditis in his Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve in the Tricuspid position. The patient subsequently did well after surgical tricuspid valve replacement.

Information technology

When Burke arrived in Miami in 1995, he hired Jeffrey A. White to act as a technology advisor, working with the heart team to find and develop applications of information technology to improve medical outcomes. This collaboration resulted in a relational database for congenital heart surgery, a web-based information system for a medical team, and web based reporting of medical outcomes in real time. The web-based information system enabled a unique form of rounds, which they called "internet rounds," enabling information exchange and clinical decision making over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

. Beginning in 2002, Burke's surgical team started continuously measuring and reporting their surgical outcomes on the web. In 2006, Burke and White collaborated with IBM to create a voice activated medical information system for use in hands free hospital environments, like the operating room, allowing the surgeons to access critical information from their electronic medical records with voice activated commands. In 2007, Burke and his team enabled patients and families to access their

electronic medical record An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared throu ...

, also known as a

personal health record A personal health record (PHR) is a health record where health data and other information related to the care of a patient is maintained by the patient. This stands in contrast to the more widely used electronic medical record, which is operated ...

, any time, anywhere, with any web enabled device. In 2013, Burke's team was selected for the Google Glass Explorer program after presenting a YouTube video demonstrating how they intended to "heal with Glass". Their proposal was recognized in several IT publications including PC Magazine. In 2015, the heart team used a 3D printed model of a child's heart and lungs to design a novel repair for complex total anomalous pulmonary venous connection. The operation was successful, and generated worldwide media coverage. In 2016, an "inoperable" patient with a single lung and hypoplastic left heart syndrome was referred to Nicklaus Children's Hospital. Using Google Cardboard as a Virtual Reality Viewer, a novel operation was planned and performed successfully. This unique synthesis of technology and surgery was recognized worldwide.

The Congenital Heart Institute

In 2002, the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...

, Florida lost their congenital heart program. Burke initiated meetings with hospital administrator Janet Livingstone, CEO John Hillenmeyer, and Medical Director Mark Swanson MD, proposing that the Miami Children's Cardiac Team help rebuild the Arnold Palmer Heart Program.

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

, the hospital's founder, approved of the plan, and used his considerable influence to finance the effort. The Congenital Heart Institute at Miami Children's Hospital and Arnold Palmer Hospital was created, with Redmond Burke and Evan Zahn acting as Co-Directors. The synthesis of Burke's work was to achieve resonance within a congenital heart team, a condition where every member of the team was driven by a common desire to reduce therapeutic trauma. To attain this resonance, the team continues to develop techniques in intensive care, information management, interventional catheterization, and minimally invasive surgery. The human side of Burke's congenital heart team at Nicklaus Children's Hospital has been described in parent's websites, and in the media. Immediately after hurricane Irma in 2017, Burke and colleagues Kristine Guleserian MD, Anthony Rossi MD, and Darline Santana-Acosta, MD worked with physicians in Puerto Rico to transport newborn babies with critical heart defects to Miami for urgent surgical care.

Television

Burke was cast as the host of the ABC network television reality program '' Miracle Workers'', which first aired March 6, 2006. The program followed patients through complex medical treatments, showing the technical and emotional aspects of modern medical care. The program was controversial, as it potentially induced patients to give up their privacy in return for excellent medical care. Reviews were mixed, some finding the program "inspirational and informative" and others finding the emotional content to be inappropriate. Burke wrestled with the ethical conflicts of a medical reality TV show. Burke has appeared on CNN (1996), ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

'' (1997, 2006), ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

'' (1997), CNN Showbiz Tonight (March 8, 2006), '' Extra'' (2006) and ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aust ...

'' (1996) to describe novel medical achievements.

Citrix Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing technologies. C ...

, an international computer networking company, used Redmond Burke's experience with information technology to highlight their concept of on demand information - "for your life's work". Creative media teams have developed compelling connections between the Miami Children's Hospital Congenital Heart Surgery Team, and innovations in Information Technology.

Print and press

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...

- Boston, Ma. Merry Christmas, New England Family love is best gift of all. *

- Boston, Ma. One tough kid tugs at grandfather's tender heart. *

Sun Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...

- Fort Lauderdale: Glad to be back: Last year, Kevin Stenmark had heart surgery. This year he pitched a no-hitter. * Miami Herald: Zabriski keeping focus at PGA amid turmoil. *

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

: For the Doctor's Touch, Help in the Hand *

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

: Doctors Risk Storm to Retrieve Heart For Miami Girl, 14, October 9, 1996 *

, Broward Metro Edition, Heart Surgery is Big Step for Infant. *

Computerworld ''Computerworld'' (abbreviated as CW) is an ongoing decades old professional publication which in 2014 "went digital." Its audience is information technology (IT) and business technology professionals, and is available via a publication website ...

: Now we're talking: speech technologies are moving far beyond call centers and into critical corporate applications such as search and security, by Drew Robb, October 2, 2006 *

: Orphan baby finds love in Miami hospital, *

- Fort Lauderdale: The Ashley Phillips Story. * Documentary: The life of a Congenital Heart Surgeon, by Photographer Jon Kral o
Jon Kral Photography
*

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...

: Orphan finds love in Miami hospital * CBS News: Hundreds Gather to Celebrate Life *

ABC News ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...

: Stem Cells to the Rescue: Fixing Heart Defects in Children *

International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online news publication that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on busi ...

: Google Glass #IfIHadGlass Contest Winners: 8,000 To Be Notified On Twitter

Honors

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

Flight *Best Doctors in America *Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare *Valor Award, American Diabetes Association *Honorary Speaker Federal Bar *Healing Heart Award *Google Partner *Google Glass Explorer

Patents

*Extracorporeal bypass technology

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Redmond American television personalities Living people Harvard Medical School alumni American cardiac surgeons Stanford University alumni 1958 births