Former Bayonne Medical Center Chief Executive Office Daniel Kane lives on in the hearts and minds of those who worked with him and did business with him, as evidenced by the community memorial service and hospital wing dedication held in his honor on Thursday, June 11.
Kane, who battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease,” died on May 8.
At the community service last Thursday, CarePoint Health Chief Executive Officer Dennis Kelly announced that the medical center’s administrative wing would now be known as the Daniel Kane Administration Wing.
Kane was also chairman of the board of CarePoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center and of the CarePoint Health Foundation.
He took over as the medical center CEO in January 2007, and only three months later had to contend with bankruptcy proceedings. He assisted in keeping the hospital’s doors open, for which he was praised repeatedly at the ceremony.
After the event, community leader Ted Garelick said that a $30 million infusion was needed to keep the hospital open and that Kane secured it through personal outreach.
“We got the money in two days,” Garelick said. “He jumped in to get the money for the bankruptcy and never took credit. He moved mountains to make things happen.”
Prior to the observance, Jen Dobin, CarePoint executive vice president of human resources, said that Kane was more than a hospital leader and fellow employee.
“I knew Dan from the day he started to his passing,” Dobin said. “He was like a father for me, being away from my home of Florida. And I know I was like a daughter for him.”
Dobin said the naming of the wing in Kane’s honor could not be more fitting.
Kelly said Kane was a “respected leader, colleague, and mentor for us,” and that he had a “tremendous impact on Bayonne Medical Center and the city over eight years.”
Mayor James Davis said he had met Kane on only two occasions, but that was enough to know the essence of the man.
“The only thing larger than Mr. Kane was his heart,” Davis said.
Scholar award memorial
Bayonne Schools Superintendent Patricia McGeehan worked with Kane in many ways over the years as CarePoint supported Bayonne High School’s Academy for Fine Arts and Academics with a $50,000 donation for its BioDome.
She announced the creation of the CarePoint Health Distinguished Academy for Fine Arts and Academics Scholar Award in Memory of Daniel Kane.
McGeehan also said she knows how important Kane’s fight with ALS was, as it emboldened others to fight it. She lost her husband to the same disease.
Kane “was a big man with heart and courage,” she said.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com.