02/26/26

New York Islanders legend Pat LaFontaine partnered with Marianne Rose-Driscoll and Marianne Dolan-Weber’s Heartfelt Wings Foundation to provide a family lounge and comfort space for pediatric patients and their families at Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip. The family room was dedicated in memory of Dolan-Weber’s husband, Carmine, a proud Army veteran and longtime resident of Oceanside.

Deacon Mark Herrmann offered a special blessing at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, while a soothing video of underwater activity played on a large screen TV. Carmine Weber loved sailing and the ocean. His family requested that the room in his memory should be “near the water.” Long Island’s Great South Bay is visible from the hospital’s windows.

Dr. Sean Levchuck, a pediatric heart surgeon at the hospital said, “Early reviews on the impact of the Family Room are wonderful. Families are absolutely thrilled that they have a place to go and decompress. It is also a safe place to talk with the doctors in private and not in the middle of some busy hallway. It’s a much-needed space delivered in memory of a great man!”

The room features a small kitchenette, a private bathroom with a shower, tables for families to gather for meals, and a play area for children to collaborate during healing with their siblings.

There is a large screen TV to watch movies and connect for events like Companions in Courage Foundation’s popular Santa Connection and Heisman Trophy-winner visits.