Board Chair of South Nassau Communities Hospital Appointed to AHA Committee

Oceanside, NY, November 20, 2013 --(PR.com)-- The Board of Trustees of the American Hospital Association (AHA) recently appointed Mr. Joseph J. Fennessy, chair of the board of directors of South Nassau Communities Hospital, to the AHA’s Committee on Governance (COG) as an at-large member. The three-year appointment is effective January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016.

In a letter sent to Mr. Fennessy announcing the appointment, Michael P. Guerin, senior vice president and secretary of the AHA, said: “We are sure that the AHA and the committee will benefit from [Mr. Fennessy’s] expertise and perspective on issues facing the membership.

The COG is the AHA’s primary vehicle for leading effective trustee involvement in grassroots advocacy, providing input into AHA policy development, and enhancing communication with the involvement of trustees in the AHA.

Mr. Fennessy, a retired partner and former chief operating officer of the Northeast region of Deloitte & Touche LLP, has more than 40 years’ experience in the public accounting profession, most of which was with Deloitte, and specializes in healthcare finance and planning. Prior to serving as Deloitte’s chief operating officer of the Northeast region, he held a number of key senior executive positions with the organization, including deputy national managing partner of financial systems and analysis; Long Island Office Managing Partner, Tri-State Healthcare Practice partner-in-charge, and Northeast Region Healthcare Strategic Planning Practice partner-in-charge.

Mr. Fennessy has served on South Nassau’s board since September of 2003. Prior to being elected chair of the board in June 2012, Mr. Fennessy held the position of vice chair. In addition serving as chair of the board, he is chair of its audit committee and a member of its finance and investment committees.

In addition to the AHA and South Nassau, a handful of other prominent not-for-profit organizations have benefited from Mr. Fennessy’s talents and dedication to their missions. He has served as the chairman of Long Island United Way as well as chairman of its Strategic Planning Committee; member of the Board of the Long Island Philharmonic, and vice chairman of the Board of Directors and chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee for Brooklyn United Methodist Nursing Home.

Numerous organizations have recognized Mr. Fennessy for his service and contributions. A member of the Catholic Youth Organization, St. Bernard’s Hall of Honor, he has been named the Brooklyn United Methodist Home Man of The Year; St. John’s University Bets Alpha Psi Accountant of The Year; Epilepsy Foundation Distinguished Long Islander; and Suffolk Community Council Distinguished Business Leader.

South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,000 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services. In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies. South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program.