Saying, “It”™s the right thing to do,” Danbury residents Ervie “Bud” Hawley and his wife, Carolyn, have made a $1 million gift to Danbury Hospital.
The money establishes the Ervie and Carolyn Hawley Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Spine Surgery, which has already been filled by Danbury Hospital”™s Spine Center director, Dr. David Kramer.
The Hawley Endowed Chair, which supports educational and technological advancements in spine surgery, is the seventh endowed chair in the Western Connecticut Health Network. Five of the chairs are based at Danbury Hospital.
“Carolyn and I are pleased to support Danbury Hospital,” Bud Hawley said. “Everyone is going to use the hospital at some point, and we believe if you can help, you should. It really benefits the entire community.”
Danbury Hospital, Norwalk Hospital and New Milford Hospital are members of the Western Connecticut Health Network. The network also includes Western Connecticut Medical Group, Western Connecticut Home Care, Western Connecticut Health Network Biomedical Research Institute, Western Connecticut Health Network Foundation and Norwalk Hospital Foundation.
Kramer, the inaugural recipient of the Hawley Endowed Chair, is medical director of The Spine Center at Danbury Hospital and a fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon. He specializes in degenerative conditions of the cervical and lumbar spine, spinal deformity correction, and complex revision spine surgery. He has served for the past 10 years as a member of the WCHN board of directors.
“We are very grateful to Ervie and Carolyn Hawley for their philanthropic leadership in establishing the Hawley Endowed Chair,” Dr. John Murphy, president and CEO of WCHN, said. “The Hawleys understand the meaningful opportunities this endowment creates and the value of an endowed chair in attracting the best and brightest talent to this community.”
