Walentik Legacy Lives on at MFH 

As a physician, Dr. Corinne Walentik saved the lives of countless premature babies during her career. Factor in the doctors that she trained to take up the mantle and continue her work, and Dr. Walentik’s impact expands by an order of magnitude. It’s the kind of legacy that led to the creation of the Foundation’s Dr. Corinne Walentik Leadership in Health Award. After she passed away in 2012, leadership at MFH looked for a way to honor her life’s work. The idea of supporting others dedicated to reducing health inequities was a perfect fit.

Although she had an outsized effect on the health of infants in our state, Dr. Walentik was not a native Missourian. Born Corinne A. Finno and raised in New Jersey, she came to Saint Louis in 1967 to attend Saint Louis University. She met her future husband, David, during the first week of school. They married in 1972 and raised three children together – Anne, Kristine, and Stephen. After graduating from SLU School of Medicine in 1974, Dr. Walentik embarked on her career as a neonatologist. She was a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Saint Louis University and Physician Executive for Managed Care and Public Policy at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center.

Dr. Walentik was passionate about helping premature babies have their best chance at a healthy future. She understood that to move the needle and improve their odds of survival, interventions had to be made on two tracks: one baby at a time and at a systems level. Ensuring that mothers had access to prenatal care and reducing the number of newborns living with neurological deficits required support from public health institutions. She used her voice to advocate for babies and received significant local, regional, and national recognition for her tireless efforts, becoming known as a fierce champion for children.