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CHARLEEN'S STORY

Charleen Grzybowski died at the age of 49 from a massive aneurysm in her brain, while working at First Student (formerly Laidlaw) preparing her school bus for afternoon drop offs. She was in a comatose state in the intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital for 3 days before she was declared brain dead. At that time, her organs were donated to Upstate New York Transplant Services and helped many people in the New York and Upstate Ohio regions. Charleen is survived by her husband of 29 years, Christopher, and their 5 children, Christina, Jessica, Brian, Jacob, Stacy and 6 grandchildren. Charleen’s family and friends thank you for donating in her memory. Through the Charleen Grzybowski Stroke Care Fund, we can help stroke prevention, education and treatment.

CHARLEEN'S GIFTS

The Charleen Grzybowski Stroke Care Fund for Mercy Hospital of Buffalo benefits a wide range of essential services at the Stroke Center. Your donation will help fund patient, family, community and physician education, stroke prevention programs, rehabilitation services including 24-hour physician, nursing care, counseling, support groups and more. For acute stroke victims, Emergency Room medical care is crucial. We ensure that patients:
• Are seen by a physician within 15 minutes of arrival in the ER
• Receive a CT scan within 25 minutes
• Receive CT results and lab results in 45 minutes
• Receive clot-busting drugs within 60 minutes of arrival or three hours of symptom onset

As a New York State Designated Stroke Center, patients are treated at a facility recognized for its superior care. Mercy Hospital now offers the most advanced stroke care available to help save lives and prevent permanent disability. With your help, we will continue to offer timely and comprehensive diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitation services.


Unyts is one of the only eight centers nationwide to house laboratory services, and organ, tissue and eye procurement in one location. With the addition of the Community Blood Service, Unyts has become the first organization of its kind nationwide.

In 2007 the organization surpassed 1,000 total donors for the first time in the history of the region. The addition of the Community Blood Service has brought significant savings to area hospitals and assurance to Western New York donors that their blood donations remain local.

The organization works to assist donor families, coordinate the donation process and increase knowledge and awareness within the community regarding the Gift of Life.

UNYTS is a member of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and operates as a non-profit serving the eight counties of Western NY.