The Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Assn. will make support for a new $350,000 chest pain center its top project in 2003, endowment officials announced at their annual meeting Thursday evening.

Endowment association officials said they have set a goal of raising $146,000 for the new cardiac observation unit at the association’s annual Hearts of Gold Ball.

The project would expand LMH’s emergency department to include four exam rooms with specialized equipment and staff to diagnose and treat cardiac patients. Currently, the hospital’s emergency department does not have any exam rooms that are designed specifically for cardiac cases.

LMH President and CEO Gene Meyer said the project would allow the hospital to improve its cardiac care by giving doctors a better chance of quickly diagnosing and treating heart problems.

“Time is literally of the essence in these cases,” Meyer said.

“The sooner treatment occurs, the greater the chance less damage will occur.”

The Hearts of Gold Ball will be April 26 in Douglas County Development Inc.’s new building at the East Hills Business Park. Individual tickets are priced at $125. For more information, contact the association at 749-6134.

Last year the event raised $127,000 for the expansion of LMH’s Oncology Center. The expansion project is under way and is expected to be complete this summer.

Kathy Clausing, vice president for the association, said the endowment chose to make the cardiac center its top priority in large part because approximately half of the 30,000 patients seen in the emergency room each year receive some sort of cardiac care.