Toms River

Dr. Karen D’Apolito, age 74 of Toms River, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 5, 2025 at Jerey Shore Medical Center in Neptune. Born in Perth Amboy, Karen had lived in Nashville, Tennessee for many years. Dr. D’Apolito had been involved in neonatal nursing since 1973. She worked as an advanced practice nurse in a variety of settings. She joined the Vanderbilt University faculty in July of 1998 and received the Excellence in Innovative Teaching Award in 2004 for her use of technology within the NNP program. Dr. D’Apolito served two terms on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) and was instrumental in the development of neonatal nursing practice guidelines as Chairperson of the NANN Practice Committee. She was on the board of the National Perinatal Association and functioned as the Vice President for programs. Her research interests were in the area of infant adaptation and chemical dependency. She had many publications in these areas and was published on the topic of neonatal pain. In 1999 she received the Research Paper of the Year Award from the Maternal Child Nursing Journal for her paper titled “A Comparison of a Rocking Bed and Standard Bed for Decreasing Withdrawal Signs in Drug-Exposed Infants”. In 2008, Dr. D’Apolito received the Individual Contribution to Maternal and Child Health Award from the National Perinatal Association for her work with drug-exposed infants. Dr. D’Apolito is the developer of an inter-observer reliability program for the Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring Tool. She had been co-investigator on several multisite NIH studies focusing on neonatal abstinence. Dr. D’Apolito continued to be active in the professional community by being on the editorial board of three referred journals. She had also been a guest editor for several referred professional journals. Dr. D’Apolito was active within the Nashville community at agencies that provide treatment for pregnant women who use illicit and non-illicit abusive drugs during their pregnancy. In 2011 she became a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Her legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of her students, colleagues and friends. She has left an indelible mark on her professional community and will be remembered for her many contributions to the health and wellbeing of so many infants.

She is predeceased by her parents Angelo and Lillian.

Surviving are her brother Bruce, her niece Clarissa and many other loving relatives and friends who will miss her dearly.

Funeral services will be Friday 11am from the Carmen F. Spezzi Funeral 15 Cherry Lane, Parlin with a 12pm Mass at Our Lady of Victores RC Church in Sayreville. A private cremation will follow.

Calling hours at the funeral home will be Thursday from 4pm to 8pm.

In lieu of flowers donations in Karen’s name may be made to Sammy’s Hope Animal Welfare at www.sammyshope.org in honor of her great love of animals.

Letters of condolence to the family, complete arrangements, and directions may be found by visiting www.spezzifuneralhome.com.