The Nemours Fund for Children’s Health announced that Michael and Ericka Hynansky have made a gift, donating $1 million to Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children located near Wilmington
The donation will establish the Nicholas T. Bracaglia Cerebral Palsy Research Endowed Fund to support cerebral palsy (CP) research.
The endowed fund is named for Michael’s cousin, Nicholas, who died in 2006 at the age of 14, due to complications from CP. “Nicholas had an infectious smile, lust for life and an incredible ability to communicate without words,” says Michael Hynansky. “We hope this gift will help advance CP rehabilitative and research efforts to give a voice to those without a voice and improve the lives of patients and their families.”
The Cerebral Palsy Center at duPont Hospital for Children is one of a few centers in the Mid-Atlantic region dedicated solely to caring for children with CP, and treats more than 3,000 children per year. In addition, Nemours is an international leader in its CP research, focused on helping children with the disease live the fullest possible lives.
Roy Proujansky, executive vice president and chief executive of Delaware Valley Operations for Nemours, had been Nicholas’ pediatric gastroenterologist. “Nicholas was a very special child,” Proujansky says. “And now, this endowed fund in his name will help countless other children. His spirit lives on.”
“We are exceedingly grateful to Michael and Ericka Hynansky for their investment in the future of children,” says Cathy Kanefsky, chief development officer for the Nemours Fund for Children’s Health. “These funds will shape and support the future of the CP program and will ensure we continue to provide the world-class care that our families have come to expect. We are truly humbled by this donation.”
Nemours is an internationally recognized children’s health system that owns and operates the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., and Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, along with major pediatric specialty clinics in Delaware, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Established as The Nemours Foundation through the legacy and philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont, Nemours offers pediatric clinical care, research, education, advocacy and prevention programs to all families in the communities it serves.
