Rotary 7255 - Gift of Life - 9 Year Old Ukrainian girl will have life saving heart surgery on LI - Rotary District 7255 and Gift of Life Long Island with Gift of Life International and several others are making a difference in the life of girl from war-torn Ukraine. Polina is Gift of Life’s most recent child, unable to receive necessary care in her home country of Ukraine due to the ongoing war.Through our ongoing partnership with Gift of Life International, CEO Rob Raylman was able to make arrangements to bring Polina to the states for her life saving surgery. Dr. Levchuck is of proud Ukrainian decent performed Polina’s surgery this July, 2022. See Media Links below for detailed coverage.
MEDIA COVERAGE
 
Dr. Sean Levchuck donated his time and expertise to perform the minimally invasive surgery at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center.
 
TODAY (also YahooNews and MSN)
Earlier this week a team at Catholic Health St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center performed a minimally invasive procedure to close the hole between the two chambers of Polina’s heart.
 
NBC4
Polina Shchepaniak, a 9-year-old refugee from Ukraine, underwent surgery at Long Island’s St. Francis Hospital to repair a hole in her heart.
 
FOX5
The minimally invasive surgery that took place on Wednesday at St. Francis Hospital was extra special for Dr. Sean Levchuck, who is of Ukrainian descent.
 
ABC7
St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center and Gift of Life Long Island partnered together to provide the life-changing heart surgery to 9-year-old Polina Shchepaniak. 
 
CBS2
“It’s a progressive type of lesion. So, initially, they’re tired, they don’t grow well,” said Dr. Sean Levchuck, chair of pediatric cardiology at St. Francis Hospital.
 
Newsday
Through the Gift of Life Foundation, Polina and her mother were able to travel to Long Island, where she underwent the procedure at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center.
 
News12
A 9-year-olld girl from Ukraine received life-saving heart surgery at St. Francis Hospital.
 
 
FUND RAISING GALA
Emceed by Arnold Quaranta, A fund raising Gala was hosted On June 15th,  honoring the work of Dr. Sean G. Levchuck, MD., the Director of Pediatric Cardiology at St. Francis Hospital. Dr. Levchuck has been a partner with Gift of Life for over twenty years. Dr. Levchuck was joined by two very special guests, 8-year-old Polina Shchepaniak and her mother, Kateryna. Harry Miller, Robbie Donno, several Gift of Life leaders and Board members , several Rotary clubs from Rotary District 7255, Rotary District Governors & PDG's,  supporters, donors and media were in attendance.
The event was graciously covered by several media - Newsday, abc7ny, News12 and several others.
With the continued support of throughout the pandemic, Gift of Life Long Island has the ability to participate in six Rotary grants, contributing $95,000 towards treatment of 1,241 children all over the world. 
Visit www.giftoflifelongisland.org for donation and details.