Glen Cove Hospital's senior vice president of medical affairs has retired after a 35-year career there, the hospital announced.
“The entire staff will miss Dr. Dunn -- his clinical expertise, wisdom and sense of humor. There is enormous respect and gratitude for his service and we wish him the best for his continued success,” said the hospital's executive director, Susan Kwiatek, in a statement.
Dunn arrived at Glen Cove Hospital in 1977 as a recent medical school graduate, beginning in the Family Medicine Residency Program and joining the Department of Family Medicine in 1980. The field was emerging as a specialty in the country at the time.
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He maintained a private practice in Glen Cove and Oyster Bay from 1980 to 1993 before being hired at Glen Cove Hospital full-time. He also practiced obstetrics, dealing with women's reproductive tracts, for 25 years.
Dunn, who was born in Brooklyn, said his family's exclusive use of their family doctor when he was a child influenced his path.
“The fun part of being a family physician is taking care of generations of patients in the same family,” said Dunn. “It’s not unusual for a doctor in my field to see four generations in the same practice – a close bond where you can talk to a patient about a grandparent.”
He mentored hundreds of young physicians in the residency program where he got his start. He moved up the leadership hierarchy and steared the hospital through the challenging introduction of managed health care and ramped-up government regulations.
“Health care is always in transition, whether it’s new medication, treatment, technology or reimbursements,” Dunn said. “The hospital constantly needs to evolve to provide the highest quality care to the greatest number of people and Glen Cove is right on target.”
