Antonio J. and Janet Palumbo Donate $3 Million to Cystic Fibrosis Care at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

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Antonio J. and Janet Palumbo Donate $3 Million to Cystic Fibrosis Care at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

Janet Palumbo’s Two Children with Cystic Fibrosis Inspire Gift

Pittsburgh, Pa. - October 25, 2000 -

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh announced today the receipt of a $3 million donation from Antonio J. (A.J.) and Janet Palumbo to support Children’s Hospital’s cystic fibrosis center and to establish an endowed chair. David M. Orenstein, MD, has been installed as the first Antonio J. and Janet Palumbo Endowed Professor of Cystic Fibrosis.

The Palumbo contribution was inspired by Janet Palumbo’s children, Edna Scarpaci, Walter Thomas and Anna Marie Thomas. Walter and Anna Marie have cystic fibrosis. “Walter and Anna Marie have been cared for at the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Children’s their entire lives,” says Janet Palumbo. “We are very grateful to Dr. Orenstein, the late Dr. Joan Rodnan and the entire staff of the Cystic Fibrosis Center. We have a need to assure that the quality treatment they provide continues in the future.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Palumbo represent outstanding generosity and community giving,” says Ronald L. Violi, Children’s chief executive officer. “We are grateful for their commitment to take our cystic fibrosis program to new levels of achievement.” The Palumbo investment will be used for facility improvements and clinical care.

The donation is another in a series of major gifts from the Palumbo family to the Pittsburgh community and surrounding region. The Palumbos, of St. Marys, Pa., have long-supported children’s health care and education. This is their first major contribution to a health care institution in the region.

David M. Orenstein, MD, is an internationally-renowned researcher, clinician and author. His research has focused on exercise and quality of life for cystic fibrosis patients, and he has written more than 200 journal articles, abstracts, reviews and book chapters. Dr. Orenstein also has authored three books on cystic fibrosis, and his book “Cystic Fibrosis: A Guide for Patient and Family” is used universally.

This is the eleventh endowed chair established at Children’s and is one of only two in the country dedicated to cystic fibrosis. A life-shortening and incurable disease, cystic fibrosis is progressive and attacks the lungs. The disease affects about 30,000 children and adults in the United States. Currently, the life expectancy of a child born with cystic fibrosis is 32 years.

Contact:
Mike Laffin, 412-692-5016, Mike.Laffin@chp.edu

Last Update
February 20, 2008

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