NOREY DOTTERER CULLEN, founder of Norey’s restaurant in Newport, was recently named the new chairperson for the Newport Hospital Foundation board of directors. Cullen has served on the hospital’s board of governors for close to two decades and helped the Newport Hospital Foundation create multiple initiatives, including the annual summer gala to raise funds for hospital programs and services.
You have been on the hospital’s board of governors for close to 20 years. Why is Newport Hospital near and dear to you? My connection to the hospital is a deep and personal one. My sister and I were born there and our father was a doctor there for many years, so it has always been in my life. I was living in major cities when my children were born, and their large hospitals felt cold and impersonal. Back in Newport and using the hospital again, I appreciate how personal and comforting it is, plus it offers amazing care. The hospital continues to be wonderfully transformed under the leadership of [President] Crista Durand and her team, but it never loses its familiar, cozy feeling.
What would you say has been the foundation’s biggest effort in helping Newport Hospital during your time on the board? Right now, our current Beyond the Building campaign to expand the emergency department and transform the [intensive care unit] are the biggest efforts. Not everyone has children or needs rehabilitation services, but everyone in the community has needed the ED at one point. And for most of our patients, the ED is the front door to the hospital. These projects will streamline services, improve access to care and enhance the patient experience.
What new initiatives do you hope to introduce for the foundation as board chairperson? Our hospital’s governors and foundation boards are made up of dedicated community leaders who are ambassadors for the hospital. I’d like to focus on engaging younger families in these volunteer leadership roles. You don’t have to be sick to benefit from the hospital. Preventative medicine, increasing your physical activity and eating healthier are all critically important. I see an opportunity for younger families to learn more about all the programs and resources available to help them live well. I’d like every Newporter to understand everything the hospital does and how fortunate we are to have this facility in our backyard.
What do you feel is Newport Hospital’s greatest need? We have amazing doctors, nurses and care teams, and we’ll soon have a brand-new, state-of-the-art emergency department. Philanthropy has helped make so many of our programs and capabilities possible, including the emergency department. Every gift to the hospital makes a difference, no matter the size, and right now our greatest need is to finish funding the emergency department so its doors can open on track this September. This is Newport’s hospital in every sense, and I believe we all have a responsibility to give back.
