DAWN MARIE GIDEON

GIDEON
DAWN MARIE (ALTOMARI)
On June 4, 2015, Dawn Gideon - wife, sister, aunt, friend, and a force in health care in the Pittsburgh region and on a broader national stage - passed away after a battle with cancer. Dawn was the type of person who never forgot a name or some important component of everyone's life demonstrating her unique impact on everyone she met. A native of Stowe Township, Dawn was a graduate of Sto-Rox High School and the University of Pittsburgh. After her tenure at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health, Dawn began her health care career at Forbes Health System in 1983. While there, never one to shy from a challenge, she was given the responsibility of the in-house consulting company; she promptly reported to management that the best course of action was to shutter the operation. Later, she built and was president of the Wilkinsburg hospital and was instrumental in its creation as the region's first long term acute care hospital. In 1990, she became Forbes CEO and in 1997 merged with Allegheny University Hospitals, only to take a leadership role as they went through bankruptcy a year later. Leaving Allegheny, she started her own enterprise focusing on assisting health care entities that are financially stressed working in multiple states, including time with St. Vincent's Medical Center in New York City. After merging her company with Huron Consulting, she embarked on a long career with Huron that was both satisfying and beneficial to a number of health centers and hospitals across the nation. She took a brief leave from Huron to return to Allegheny and assist in its rescue. While there, she made major strides in care delivery and built relationships that continue to present sustaining advantages. As one colleague recently said, "she played an important role in WPAHS not being sold to a for-profit that would have led to bankruptcy and loss of pensions." Interestingly, Dawn was instrumental in creating an opportunity for the hospice to be housed in West Penn Hospital. The hospice would later play a critical role in her personal health care. After returning to Huron, she embarked on a professional venture to turn around struggling health care centers that took her throughout the country. Most recently her client list included United Medical Center in Washington, DC; a very successful venture and new relationship between a government funded health care agency and a corporate player such as Huron. Dawn is survived by her husband, Kevin Altomari; her brothers, Mark and his partner, Janie, Ron and his wife, Elizabeth, and Gary and his wife, Angela. Though Dawn and Kevin never had children, her nieces and nephews have always played an important role in her life, Steven Kowatic, Tessa Markle, Zachary, Victoria, Courtney, Lucas, Lila, George, Sarah, Joseph, and Noah Gideon; also surviving are her mother-in-law, Lena Altomari; and sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Dr. Howard Markle and Roxanne. She was predeceased by her sister, Michelle Kowatic; mother, Ethel Gideon; and father, Donald "Bud" Gideon. She so loved her work and often said she couldn't understand why people needed hobbies to decompress after work. If you love what you do there is no need to de-stress. Dawn was a knowledgeable, strong, creative visionary and a caring and compassionate leader. She has touched so many lives and will be remembered fondly by countless friends and colleagues. Friends will be received at JOHN A. FREYVOGEL SONS, INC., 4900 Centre Avenue at Devonshire Street (freyvogelfuneralhome.com) on Sunday and Monday 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Funeral Tuesday, Mass of Christian Burial St. Paul Cathedral 10 a.m. Remembrances may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care Fund - Office of Development, 4818 Liberty Avenue, PGH., PA 15224.
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