- Date Of Birth: September 7, 1950
- Date Of Death: March 31, 2012
- State: Florida
A proud father and grandfather, his worldwide reputation lead him to work with international leaders at prestigious centers like the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the Asian Business Conference at Harvard University. He touched thousands of clients and oversaw thousands of professionals, driving decades of progress in genetics, biotech, pharmaceuticals and hospital administration. Through it all, he protected a deep connection to the belief that the healthcare industry was more about “healthcare” than “industry,” believing that the work he shared with his clients could cure disease, end hunger and elevate living standards around the world. He also believed in mentorship, both formal and casual, and took great pride in the success of his friends and colleagues.
His work always carried the signature humanity and humility of his Florida heritage and family tradition, stretching back to his citrus-farmer grandfather. He played football for the Florida State University Seminoles, choosing it over two dozen other scholarship offers so he could stay close to his beloved Jo, who he married in 1969. Even as his career pulled him across the country and around the world, his home base was always in Florida. As he moved from Tampa to Tallahassee to Jacksonville to Miami, he committed himself to his family and his community. From the scholarship he endowed for FSU student athletes to his leadership in the United Way of Miami-Dade County, Donn never drew a line between the ideals he pursued at work and those he lived at home.
Retirement didn’t last long, however, as Donn saw another challenge on the horizon: the transformation of Jackson Health System, one of the country’s largest and most troubled public health systems. As both a safety-net hospital for the neediest in our community and a globally admired center for academic medicine and research, Jackson was an institution Donn believed could overcome years of failure and become a national model for delivering high-quality care to a huge and diverse community. As the system’s new chief strategy officer, he rejected so-called conventional wisdom and pushed relentlessly for the kind of innovation that he had spent a career developing.
Donn’s international success was always tempered by his easy smile, genuine personal loyalty and old-Florida belief in a handshake and a promise. He never failed to light up at the mention of his family, particularly JoAnn Szaro, his wife of 42 years. He is also survived by his beloved children and grandchildren – Shelly & Jay Kossoff (Sari, Bailey and Brady), Adam & Jennifer Szaro (Kaleb and Jonah), Alex Szaro, and Rebecca & Mike Sweet (Samantha and Penelope) – his loving mother, Arlene Szaro and his siblings Ben Szaro, Paul and Margie Szaro, and Patti & Bill Sons.
