The Friends of Nathaniel Witherell brought together Greenwich community leaders and citizens to honor Dr. Francis X. Walsh, a 45-year member of the Witherell’s medical team and its current Medical Director, at a special dinner held on Nov. 1 at Greenwich Country Club. The sold-out event raised funds to create essential quality of life programs for Greenwich senior citizens that live at the Nathaniel Witherell, the only Town-owned and operated skilled nursing facility in Connecticut. Town of Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei was on hand to present Dr. Walsh with a special proclamation recognizing his service to the Witherell.
“Each year our generous donors and friends come together to support Greenwich seniors who can no longer live at home,” notes Scott Neff, Executive Director of the Friends of Nathaniel Witherell. “This year, there was no better way to do that than by recognizing the invaluable contributions of Dr. Frank Walsh. Over the last 45 years, he has advanced the highest quality medical care for thousands of seniors at the Witherell, both in skilled nursing and in short term rehabilitation.”
When accepting his tribute, Walsh told attendees that he was overwhelmed by the turnout and commented that “The Witherell is a great place. You may not realize it but they have practically no staff turnover – maybe 6% a year compared to the industry average of 50%. When that occurs, you know that the quality of care goes way up.” He also praised the Witherell’s strong volunteer corps. “There are over 300 volunteerswhich is also a stable number. They do so much from art and music to providing companionship. It’s wonderful to see.”
The evening’s program also featured special guest speaker Catherine Kaczorowski, Ph.D., Jackson Laboratory Associate Professor, Envin Family Chair in Alzheimer’s Research. Kaczorowski’s research is focused on understanding how the brain changes as we age so that cognitive decline may not be an inevitable part of growing older.
During her presentation, Kaczorowski noted that her research is focused on “getting to the mechanism of how well we age. Some people remain mentally sharp; others struggle.” She said that in experimenting with mice, her team is able to determine which brain neurons are “resilient” (they remodel after damage) and which continue to decline as a result of Alzheimer’s Disease. “Individual genetic differences strongly influence the risk and severity of the development of Alzheimer’s Disease,” she said. Until therapies are developed and approved by the FDA, she advises that to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, stick to a healthy diet, exercise, and maintain an active social life.
“This event was a wonderful way to pay tribute to Dr. Walsh while also generating funds to support our seniors, now and in the future,” said Neff.
