McMurray nurse donating at least $450K to Magee-Womens Hospital
A 79-year-old nurse anesthetist from McMurray will donate Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation’s largest planned gift in the last 10 years from her retirement savings. Sylvia Bernassoli will donate between $450,000 and $550,000 to the hospital.
Bernassoli graduated from nursing school 50 years ago. She has worked in Magee’s Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology for the past 20 years as an anesthetist, and her donation will go directly to research for fertility and reproductive issues.
“I love what I do here,” Bernassoli said in the hospital newsletter. “It’s exciting to play a part in helping couples have a baby. So much more is known about treatment of infertility than when I started. Research has helped make such a difference for couples who want to have children.”
Bernassoli’s endowment will give physicians in training the opportunity to have funded research supervised by a mentor within the university system, according to the hospital. It will also increase the number of patients who become candidates for fertility preservation.
One of these areas of training is in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, which is a three-year program with the ultimate goal of providing advanced medical and surgical expertise. Bernassoli has worked closely with the fellows in the reproductive endocrinology and infertility on almost a daily basis.