Hospice Services Ready for Liftoff Thanks to Endowment Gift
In April 2023, David Fiorito established the Robert J. FioRito and David R. Fiorito Family Endowment Fund in honor of his late father, Robert, through a remarkable $100,000 gift to enhance hospice programs and services at Sutter Care at Home now and into the future.
An endowment fund is a perpetual pool of donations that are invested to generate income, providing significant support while also growing the funds when they are not being used. Donations towards these funds are advantageous due to their ability to increasingly enhance programs and services now and into the future.
A hardworking aeronautical engineer, David’s father, Robert, was heavily involved in the aerospace industry, and even contributed towards the lunar module landing rockets for the moon missions.
Sadly, several years ago, Robert’s health began to deteriorate. He first developed dementia, followed eventually by a more physical deterioration.
“In the end, he took a long time to pass on which was difficult as well. The hospice people really took a lot of the load off me. I was very thankful for them,” said David.
The hospice staff at Sutter Care at Home proved to be a valuable resource and helped to make an incredibly difficult situation a little more bearable for David. He remembers the nurse who cared for his father – noting it would have been even more difficult for him to continue to watch over his father without her because of the compassionate care she provided. He said she truly cared for both his dad and for him.
“We had caregivers who would take care of him physically…feed him and everything. But then towards the end, Sutter Care at Home also came in and arranged for priests to visit. It was a great additional help that somebody else was watching the whole situation,” he said. “They were very professional, very caring and it was all very appreciated.”
Following this difficult experience, David wanted to honor his father by giving back to others who are going through similar situations. After making his first gift to Sutter Care at Home in 2018, David made the life-changing decision to leave a transformative $500,000 legacy gift in 2021 that, in addition to the endowment fund, will go on to provide a level of comfort and care to others that otherwise would not be possible.
“Because of the care my father received from the Sutter Care at Home hospice nurses, I hope the same quality of care can and will be provided to others who need it the most,” said David.
“It makes you feel good that you’re giving something that’s going to be helping other people who might be dealing with a similar situation at some point. Losing someone that’s close to you is a very difficult thing to experience. For me, that was a while ago. Time heals all wounds, as they say. I can feel confident that my donation will help others who will need the services. It’s important that others have access to good, quality care like my father did.”
To learn more about how you can contribute to this endowment fund, or how you can establish one yourself, please reach out to Rena’ Mathews by phone at (916) 291-1478, or by email at Rena.Mathews@sutterhealth.org.
