After Family Tragedy, She Devoted Her Life to Helping Others Detect Disease

Written by Sharon Geltner
Photography by Carri Lager

It was the shock of her beloved mother’s untimely demise that changed Dove Donovan’s life forever. “Her sudden death inspired me to go into the medical field and save lives,” she said.

Donovan, who lives and works in Jupiter, owns Island Imaging, a concierge service; providing echo, vascular and ultrasound screenings. She sends her detailed images and tests to a cardiologist on Indiantown Road and a radiologist in Port St. Lucie. They read the tests, then issue a report with results and recommendations in 24 hours, she said.

Donovan has 25 years of relevant experience and has been associated with Mount Sinai Hospital, New York Presbyterian, Montefiore Medical Center, Columbia University Medical Center and others.

“Mom died of a heart attack at age 48,” Donovan recalled. “She was not a smoker or a drinker and she was a vegetarian. She had no known heart disease symptoms. But something showed up in her bloodwork.”

“I got a call at work,” Donovan added. “By the time I got to the hospital, she was gone.”

“That was life changing, it changed the trajectory of my life and I considered committing to medical school,” she said. “So, I called New York University out of the blue and got a woman in the Radiology Department.”

“That lady said there was one spot left in her training program. The next day, I scored 100 on the entrance exam and I had the pre-requisites to enter the program.”

But it wasn’t easy, Donovan remembered. “I cried every day, the program was so hard.”

However, she persevered. And during that time, Donovan moonlighted for doctors who had private clients. That was when she got the idea for her first business, Sonographic Services. After Family Tragedy, She Devoted Her Life to Helping Others Detect Disease Photos by Carri Lager Dove Donovan, owner of Island Imaging, where she offers echo, vascular, and ultrasound screenings that can detect cardiovascular problems.

“The doctors were so busy, they needed to hire more technicians,” she said. “I eventually employed 15 people and we had contracts in Westchester, Rockland, Orange County and elsewhere.”

Covid slowed things down and she still employs five in the state of New York, but her primary business is Island Imaging in Jupiter.

“The idea is to provide preventative care,” Donovan said. “I wanted to get back into being more hands on. I love working with patients.” Her clients pay out of pocket, because insurance does not cover most of these tests.

However, she provides privacy, compassionate and dignified treatment and has eliminated long, agonizing waits for results. She emphasized she is “fair and transparent” with pricing.

Donovan mused that wanting to make a real difference in her patients’ health is what motivates her.

“I share this philosophy with doctors who are going into concierge practices,” Donovan said. “They want to work with patients, instead of throwing a bandage or pill on something that has already happened.” Donovan, who moved to Jupiter in 2016, dedicated her life to helping people after her mother died at just 48.

She came to Florida in 2014 when visiting her Dad in Jupiter once a month. “I fell in love with the place and made it permanent in 2016.”

“This is about saving people,” Donovan said.

“One of my patients was a household name baseball player. He was in his fifties and looked like he was in perfect condition,” she said. “But his heart was dilated and barely pumping. I was shocked.”

“That happens a lot,” Donovan added, “A person can look healthy but until you look inside, you won’t see a small hole in the heart or malformed valves or a congenital condition.”

Donovan has sent patients to emergency surgery. “In one case, I couldn’t do a stress test on a woman, because she had an aneurysm, she needed to get to a specialist immediately.”

Donovan will take equipment to people who are bedridden or prefer privacy, such as patients in Palm Beach. If five people sign up for her services, she’ll bring the equipment to their clubhouse.

By the way, “Dove,” is her real name.

“I was born in 1970 near in New Paltz, near Woodstock. My parents were sort of hippies. My brother’s name is ‘Sky.’”

Besides her poetic name, Donovan said her father also gave her solid business training and inspired her to go out on her own.

“Dad was in the yacht business, ran a sailing school and rented charters. I learned a lot about business from him.” “Both my parents inspired me.”