Attorney Gives Back to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital
Care provided to her son provides impetus to support her alma mater
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| Frank Loughlin and Dawn Walsh with her son, Christopher, at their home on their wedding night on New Year’s Eve 2011 |
STONY BROOK, N.Y., March 16, 2012 –Attorney Dawn Walsh is connected to Stony Brook University for more than one reason. First, it’s her alma mater. She earned her bachelor’s degree here, graduating with honors before earning her Juris Doctor at Hofstra University. But more importantly, Dawn Walsh is connected to Stony Brook because of a very special young man in her life: her son, Christopher.
When Christopher was born in 2001, he experienced a traumatic brain injury, one that left him permanently disabled – unable to walk or talk or live his life the way other boys do. He requires a special room, a special bed, and around-the-clock nursing care. Christopher was born in another hospital but over the years has received treatment and care at Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital.
Because she knows firsthand the range of emotions and concerns parents have when their child is sick, Walsh, who lives in Dix Hills and practices law in Westbury, devotes much of her spare time as their voice and their advocate. She serves on the Stony Brook Children’s planning committee, the family advisory board for the hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and the Partners in Care Council at Stony Brook University Hospital.
“My goal is to help parents, and Stony Brook Children’s hospital has always been willing to do whatever it takes to provide not only the best patient care but also the best family-centered care,” says Walsh, adding that she understands the importance of fundraising. “Stony Brook needs resources so they can hire the best doctors and faculty and staff.”
Walsh used the occasion of her second wedding, held on New Year’s Eve 2011, to make a financial contribution of her own. Rather than bringing wedding gifts, guests were asked to give to Stony Brook Children’s – an endeavor that yielded almost $7,000.
“Christopher is comfortable and well-cared for,” Walsh concludes. “When Frank (Loughlin) and I decided to get married, we knew we would get married at my house, where we could be close to Chris. I am so glad our wedding celebration gave us the opportunity to give back to Stony Brook – because of all they’ve given to me and to other parents.”
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About Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital:
Established in June 2010, Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital is Suffolk County’s only children’s hospital. More than 7,000 children and adolescents are admitted each year. Stony Brook Children’s operates 100 pediatric beds and has more than 100 full-time pediatric physicians and surgeons and over 200 voluntary pediatric faculty members in 30 different specialties. The hospital is the Level 4 Regional Perinatal Center for our area and has a Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It is home to the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center and also offers a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Program, Pediatric Cardiology Program, Pediatric HIV and AIDS Center, Cystic Fibrosis Center and the Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookchildrens.org.
© Stony Brook University 2012
