Local Hospice History
An Oral History of End-of-Life Care in Connecticut's Northwest CornerVoices of Hospice
On March 29, 2026, two pioneering nurses sat down with journalist Kristin Ewald to share what they had witnessed across six decades of care. Louisa Lafontan and Donna DiMartino helped shape hospice care in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner — from the early days of Sharon Hospital’s first intensive care unit to the movement that would transform how Americans die. Press play to hear their story in their own words.
▶ Listen · 30 minutes
Louisa Lafontaine & Donna DiMartino with Kristin Ewald · March 29, 2026
Louisa Lafontan and Donna DiMartino, pioneers of hospice care in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner, photographed in 2026
Louisa Lafontan and Donna DiMartino, pioneers of hospice care in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner, photographed in 2026
Two pioneers, one story
Louisa Lafontan was born in 1939 and moved with her family to Kent, Connecticut at the age of two. Donna DiMartino was born in Sharon in 1952. Both women came of age in the Northwest Corner and chose nursing — a profession that would lead them to the front lines of a quiet revolution in how Americans care for the dying.
Louisa Lafontan, RN, Sharon Hospital. She founded the hospital’s first intensive care unit in 1965 and went on to lead its pioneering hospice program.
A nurse who changed things
After graduating from Columbia-Presbyterian School of Nursing in 1961, Louisa joined Sharon Hospital in 1965. With the support of Dr. Roland Smith, she established the hospital’s first intensive care unit — converting a men’s ward and training an entire generation of nurses. Dr. Carl Bornemann taught her everything she knew about electrocardiograms. She then taught those same skills to others.
A nurse who changed things
After graduating from Columbia University’s School of Nursing in 1961, Louisa joined Sharon Hospital in 1965. With the support of Dr. Roland Smith, she established the hospital’s first intensive care unit — converting a men’s ward and training an entire generation of nurses. Dr. Carl Bornemann taught her everything she knew about electrocardiograms. She then taught those same skills to others.
Louisa Lafontan, RN, Sharon Hospital. She founded the hospital’s first intensive care unit in 1965 and went on to lead its pioneering hospice program.
Nursing education in mid-century America. When Louisa and Donna trained, nurses were expected to defer entirely to physicians — a culture both women helped change.
The hospital culture of the era
When Louisa and Donna began their careers, nurses were expected to defer entirely to physicians. Donna recalls being pinned against a wall by a doctor demanding to know why temperature readings were not in the log. Louisa was sent back to change out of her Columbia-Presbyterian uniform by a physician who called it ‘inappropriate.’ The culture was strict — but it was changing.
Nursing education in mid-century America. When Louisa and Donna trained, nurses were expected to defer entirely to physicians — a culture both women helped change.
The hospital culture of the era
When Louisa and Donna began their careers, nurses were expected to defer entirely to physicians. Donna recalls being pinned against a wall by a doctor demanding to know why temperature readings were not in the log. Louisa was sent back to change out of her Columbia-Presbyterian uniform by a physician who called it ‘inappropriate.’ The culture was strict — but it was changing.
Louisa Lafontan with Dr. Carl Bornemann at Sharon Hospital. Dr. Bornemann taught Louisa the EKG expertise she would pass on to a generation of ICU nurses.
Learning to read the heart
Dr. Carl Bornemann loved cardiology and he loved teaching. He would arrive at the ICU with long paper strips of EKG readings — and if there was an interesting autopsy in the basement, he would ask Louisa if she could get off duty to come see it, so he could show her a coronary artery. ‘That’s where all my coronary artery knowledge came from,’ Louisa recalls. She went on to teach those same EKG classes to nurses across the region.
Learning to read the heart
Dr. Carl Bornemann loved cardiology and he loved teaching. He would arrive at the ICU with long paper strips of EKG readings — and if there was an interesting autopsy in the basement, he would ask Louisa if she could get off duty to come see it, so he could show her a coronary artery. ‘That’s where all my coronary artery knowledge came from,’ Louisa recalls. She went on to teach those same EKG classes to nurses across the region.
Louisa Lafontan with Dr. Carl Bornemann at Sharon Hospital. Dr. Bornemann taught Louisa the EKG expertise she would pass on to a generation of ICU nurses.
Claudia Haines Warner (1924–2006), Sharon, CT. Her determination to relieve her son’s suffering set the hospice movement in motion across the Northwest Corner.
A mothers determination
Claudia Haines Warner lived on Low Road in Sharon with her husband and four children. When her son Peter was diagnosed with leukemia and she watched him endure inadequate pain management, something shifted. ‘You couldn’t have your medicine unless it was past four hours,’ Donna recalls. ‘And as a mother who saw her child in pain, she quite rightly got upset about it.’ Instead of directing her frustration at those around her, Claudia went looking for the people who could help.
Claudia Haines Warner (1924–2006), Sharon, CT. Her determination to relieve her son’s suffering set the hospice movement in motion across the Northwest Corner.
A mothers determination
Claudia Haines Warner lived on Low Road in Sharon with her husband and four children. When her son Peter was diagnosed with leukemia and she watched him endure inadequate pain management, something shifted. ‘You couldn’t have your medicine unless it was past four hours,’ Donna recalls. ‘And as a mother who saw her child in pain, she quite rightly got upset about it.’ Instead of directing her frustration at those around her, Claudia went looking for the people who could help.
Claudia Haines Warner founded the first hospice steering committee in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner, inviting Louisa Lafontan to join. Peter Warner passed away in his early twenties. The committee he inspired endures.
The steering committee
Claudia formed the first hospice steering committee in the Northwest Corner, inviting Louisa to join. Louisa had recently attended a lecture by Florence Wald — Dean of the Yale School of Nursing and the mother of the American hospice movement — and returned inspired. Wald had herself taken a leave from Yale to train in London with Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the world’s first hospice in 1967. In 1974, Wald led the building of the first free-standing hospice facility in the United States, in Branford, Connecticut. Sadly, Peter Warner passed away in his early twenties. The committee he inspired lives on.
The steering committee
Claudia formed the first hospice steering committee in the Northwest Corner, inviting Louisa to join. Louisa had recently attended a lecture by Florence Wald — Dean of the Yale School of Nursing and the mother of the American hospice movement — and returned inspired. Wald had herself taken a leave from Yale to train in London with Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the world’s first hospice in 1967. In 1974, Wald led the building of the first free-standing hospice facility in the United States, in Branford, Connecticut. Sadly, Peter Warner passed away in his early twenties. The committee he inspired lives on.
Claudia Haines Warner founded the first hospice steering committee in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner, inviting Louisa Lafontan to join. Peter Warner passed away in his early twenties. The committee he inspired endures.
Florence Wald, Dean of the Yale School of Nursing and founder of the American hospice movement. In 1974, she established the first free-standing hospice in the United States, in Branford, Connecticut.
Florence Wald and the American hospice movement
When Claudia Warner formed the hospice steering committee, Louisa Lafontan had recently attended a lecture by Florence Wald — Dean of the Yale School of Nursing and the woman who brought the hospice movement to America. Wald had taken a leave from Yale to train in London with Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the world’s first modern hospice in 1967. Inspired by what she witnessed, Wald returned to Connecticut and in 1974 led the creation of the first free-standing hospice facility in the United States, in Branford. Her lecture changed the direction of Louisa’s work — and by extension, the care available to dying patients across the Northwest Corner.
Florence Wald, Dean of the Yale School of Nursing and founder of the American hospice movement. In 1974, she established the first free-standing hospice in the United States, in Branford, Connecticut.
When Claudia Warner formed the hospice steering committee, Louisa Lafontan had recently attended a lecture by Florence Wald — Dean of the Yale School of Nursing and the woman who brought the hospice movement to America. Wald had taken a leave from Yale to train in London with Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the world’s first modern hospice in 1967. Inspired by what she witnessed, Wald returned to Connecticut and in 1974 led the creation of the first free-standing hospice facility in the United States, in Branford. Her lecture changed the direction of Louisa’s work — and by extension, the care available to dying patients across the Northwest Corner.
Full Circle Moment
During this interview, Louisa recalled a quiet moment when she was serving as a hospice volunteer for Dr. Helen Riley — a physician who had spent her career in the OR and still had stories to tell right up to the end. There was a knock at the door. It was Dr. Gallup, Helen's physician, coming simply to say goodbye.
"He sat right down with us," Louisa recalled. "And it made all the difference to Helen to have Dr. Gallup there."
What Louisa didn't know then was that Dr. Gallup's daughter, Cristin, would one day become a hospice nurse herself — and the Executive Director of East Mountain House. The circle, it seems, was already closing.
Recorded March 29, 2026 · Interviewer: Kristin Ewald