Cancer Program Benefits from 2009 Carnation Ball

Oceanside, NY, November 25, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Harold Mahony, Esq., chair of the board of directors of South Nassau Communities Hospital, and physician leaders Henry Partridge, MD, and Jerome Zisfein, MD, were honored at South Nassau’s 2009 Annual Carnation Ball. Mr. Mahony was the honoree of the event and Drs. Partridge and Zisfein were recipients of the hospital’s Mary Pearson Award.

South Nassau administrators, board members and medical staff members, as well as many of the region’s healthcare executives and state and local public officials, were among the approximately 650 guests who attended the Carnation Ball held at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City on November 7.

The event raised more than $600,000 dollars in support of South Nassau’s Comprehensive Cancer Program, thanks in part to many generous and benevolent sponsors including Exclusive Ball Sponsor Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group.

“The Carnation Ball is an annual fundraising event that helps South Nassau fulfill its mission,” said Joseph A. Quagliata, president and CEO of South Nassau. “The leadership and dedicated efforts of this evening’s honoree, Mr. Mahony, and our Mary Pearson Award recipients, Drs. Partridge and Zisfein, have been vital to South Nassau’s ongoing expansion to meet the healthcare needs of the patients and communities we serve.”

The Carnation Ball honoree is recognized for exemplary leadership and contributions in support of South Nassau’s mission to provide cost-effective, high-quality healthcare. Mr. Mahony has been chair of the board of directors since 2004 and has served on the board since 1988.

During his 21 years of selfless leadership and service, South Nassau has achieved unprecedented growth, highlighted by:
- the opening of the five-story, 172,000 square foot North Addition, the Center for Cardiovascular Health, the Cancer Center in Valley Stream, and 17 additional community-based, specialty satellite healthcare services and centers;
- expansion of the Emergency Services Department to the largest and most advanced on the South Shore of Nassau County with 35 treatment rooms and specialty areas, including a high speed CT-scan and x-ray facility;
- and the introduction of state-of-the art medical technologies and treatments such as Long Island’s first Gamma Knife®, weight-loss surgery and elective angioplasty.

South Nassau’s Mary Pearson Award is presented annually to an individual for extraordinary effort and individual contributions that significantly advance South Nassau’s commitment to compassionate care and standard setting healthcare services.

Dr. Zisfein, director of Cardiac Catheterization, spearheaded South Nassau’s participation in C-PORT (Cardiovascular Patient Outcomes Research Team), which proved that hospitals without an on-site open-heart program could safely perform angioplasty and served as the cornerstone for the transformation of cardiology services at South Nassau into the Center for Cardiovascular Health, providing the communities with advancements in interventional cardiology.

During his tenure as chair of the Department of Surgery, Dr. Partridge fostered South Nassau’s research and introduction of many leading-edge medical technologies and surgical techniques in the operating room. This includes the endoscope, laparoscope and arthroscope, which require just band-aid size incisions to perform complex and common surgeries including weight-loss surgery, image-guided joint replacement surgery, knee cartilage and ligament repair and reconstruction, and repair of bulging or herniated discs in the lower back.

South Nassau’s Cancer Program is designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons and features a multidisciplinary team of world-class medical, radiation and surgical oncologists. The team uses an array of advanced technologies and treatments to provide evaluation and therapy for a wide range of cancers, both common and rare.

South Nassau’s Cancer Program incorporates a number of specialty cancer care services, such as: South Nassau Long Island Gamma Knife Center (Oceanside), South Nassau Center for Prostate Health (Oceanside), South Nassau Cancer Center (Valley Stream), South Nassau Radiation Oncology (Oceanside and Valley Stream), South Nassau Surgical Oncology (Oceanside and Valley Stream), and Complete Women’s Imaging Center (Oceanside).
For more information about South Nassau’s Cancer Program or to schedule an appointment, please call 1-877-SOUTH-NASSAU.

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