Suburban Hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council was saddened by the deaths in 2023 of June Graff and Joel Hirschhorn, two long-standing PFAs.

June Graff, who became a PFA member of Suburban Hospital’s PFAC in 2013, died Feb. 7. A former teacher, Graff played a key role in patient education for Johns Hopkins Medicine. She also served faithfully for many years on Suburban’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. Perhaps most notably, Graff was among the founders of the hospital’s Patient and Family Resource Center, and she stepped forward early in 2022 to head up the committee that successfully opened the Virtual Resource Center late in 2022. June will be missed.

Joel Hirschhorn, a PFA who had been on the PFAC since 2013, died Sept. 6. A participant in many PFAC initiatives, he was a PFA in the clinical decision unit, sometimes called the observation unit. This unit cares for patients in the emergency department who need observation for up to 24 hours to determine if they should be admitted to the hospital.

Hirschhorn, who had a Ph.D. in materials engineering, was a professor at the University of Wisconsin for 13 years. He also directed many influential studies on environmental and resource conservation issues and policies for the U.S. congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and he served at the National Governors Association. Hirschhorn published many books and articles on technology and policy issues. Joel will be missed.