Nassau Entrepreneur's $4.5M Gift Will Create Dr. Lounge At St. Francis

ROSLYN, NY — A Port Washington entrepreneur donated $4.5 million to Roslyn's St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center, Catholic Health Services announced. Peter Dejana is the founder of Dejana Industries, and the foundation he runs with his wife, the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, has gifted major amounts to Long Island hospitals in recent years.

Part of the St. Francis gift will help create a physician's lounge, to help staff rest and manage stress, Catholic Help explained.

The Dejana family requested commemorative plaques at the hospital elevator bank to thank the health care providers at St. Francis for their hard work.

"Our hope is that the sentiment expressed on these plaques conveys to all those who are part of Catholic Health how much their talents and efforts are appreciated by our family and those whose lives are impacted by their good work," Peter Dejana said.

"The Physicians Lounge will be a dedicated space in which St. Francis doctors can find respite and decompress before and after procedures and rounds, contributing to the culture of care and expertise for which St. Francis is so renowned. The lounge is among a suite of new spaces and services St. Francis is introducing to provide staff at all levels increased opportunities for stress management and self-care," Catholic Health said in a statement.

"Creating the lounge space for St. Francis physicians to relax, confer with each other, or just take a needed break is something we felt important to provide, and it became a priority for us to see it through," Dejana said.

In April, the Dejana Foundation donated $1 million to North Shore University Hospital for a new trauma suite in the Petrocelli Advanced Surgical Pavilion.