Oct. 22, 1998
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Donna Diaz says “serendipity” led her to becoming the firstand onlynurse coordinator for Saint Raphaels Parkinson Information and Referral Center 10 years ago.
Her success, however, has been much more than a lucky fluke for the hundreds of Parkinsons patients and their families whose lives she has touched in the past decade.
Diazs significant contributions to her work and her patients were recognized at last months American Parkinson Disease Association biennial meeting in Baltimore, Md., where she was only one of five coordinators in the nation to receive the APDAs Salvatore Esposito, Sr. Coordinators Award. The Esposito Award is named for a founder and the second president of the APDA, a national, grassroots organization started in 1961.
The APDA Information and Referral Center at the Hospital of Saint Raphael is one of 50 centers funded by the APDA nationwide dedicated to the more than 1.5 million Americans suffering from Parkinsons disease, their families and caregivers. Its free services include education, referral to community resources, counseling and advocacy, a support group, and a telephone information line.
Diaz, a registered nurse for 23 years, has a bachelors degree in Nursing from Fairfield University, Conn. and a masters degree in Adult Education from Southern Connecticut State University. Her clinical experience includes work in critical care and medical-surgical nursing in staff and management roles.
She lectures both locally and nationally about Parkinsons disease and helps coordinate many support groups, seminars and conferences. Shes a member of the national Nurse Advisory Council for SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals.
Diazs commitment to Parkinsons disease goes far beyond her job at Saint Raphaels. Shes also a board member of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association and yearly co-chair of the APDAs statewide walkathon.
She is active in the PTA in Hamden and chairperson of the Board of the Mount Carmel Nursery School, as well as a member of the M.O.M.s Clinic Advisory Committee for the Quinnipiac Valley Health District. She and her husband Steve live in Hamden with their three children, Stefanie, Crissy and Michael.
For more information about the Center or Parkinsons disease call (203) 789-3936.