South Nassau Board Chairman, Mount Sinai Health Network President to Be Honored

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. - Sept. 10, 2018 - PRLog -- In honor of their leadership and vision that led to the affiliation between South Nassau Communities Hospital and the Mount Sinai Health System, Joseph J. Fennessy, chair of South Nassau's board of directors, and Arthur Klein, MD, president of the Mount Sinai Health Network, have been named co-honorees of South Nassau's 'Soirée Under the Stars' gala.

The hospital also will honor Jason Freeman, MD, director of interventional cardiology, and Willie Wright, transporter, who will be presented with the hospital's Mary Pearson and the Cupola awards, respectively on September 29^th at the Seawane Club in Hewlett, NY.

Funds raised at the Soirée will support the hospital's five-year, $10-million capital campaign to nearly double the size of the Oceanside Emergency Department. The renovation and expansion – which is already underway – will accommodate in excess of 80,000 patient visits each year and establish dedicated treatment areas in the Emergency Department for pediatric and behavioral health patients.

Final regulatory approval of the Mount Sinai-South Nassau affiliation is pending and a closing on the deal is expected this fall.

A major contributor to the hospital's expansion campaign, Mr. Fennessy has served on South Nassau's board of directors since September of 2003 and was elected chairman in June 2012. He is a retired former partner and chief operating officer of the Deloitte & Touche LLP's Northeast region.  Mr. Fennessy has applied his wealth of experience in public accounting and healthcare finance and planning to provide key insight and strategy that has been essential to South Nassau's ambitious strategic growth plan that will improve medical services for the entire South Shore of Long Island.

Numerous organizations have recognized Mr. Fennessy for his service and contributions, including St. Bernards' Roman Catholic Parish and their CYO who inducted him into their Hall of Honor for his distinguished service as the volunteer head coach of his daughter's CYO basketball team. Additionally, Mr. Fennessy 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.

         A recognized leader and visionary in health care delivery innovation and management, Dr. Klein has served as president of the Mount Sinai Health Network since February of 2013. A newly created role at the time of his appointment, Dr. Klein has spearheaded the growth of the Health System's network of more than 150 clinical relationships, including 18 affiliated hospitals, five nursing homes, 23 employed physician practices and 9 additional large group practice affiliations throughout New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties.

South Nassau's Mary Pearson Award, named in honor of the hospital's founding administrator, is presented annually to an individual for extraordinary effort and individual contributions that significantly advance South Nassau's commitment to the communities we serve and standard setting healthcare services.  Since joining South Nassau in 2006 as director of Interventional Cardiology, Dr. Freeman has forged a reputation for leadership and medical innovation in the specialty of interventional cardiology.

Dr. Freeman was recruited to South Nassau soon after it was selected by the New York State Department of Health in July 2006 to participate in a statewide pilot program that allowed selected hospitals without open-heart surgical programs to perform elective angioplasty. At the conclusion of the pilot program, South Nassau was the first and only community hospital in Nassau County – and one of only five in New York State – to be permitted to perform angioplasty on an elective or non-emergency basis.

Since then, under Dr. Freeman's leadership, the interventional cardiology program at South Nassau's Center for Cardiovascular Health has successfully performed thousands of angioplasties and grown to offer a wide range of specialized elective coronary and peripheral interventional procedures.

South Nassau established the Cupola Award in 2015 as an annual award presented to a deserving hospital employee who goes above and beyond their duties, and lives by the hospital mission to promote excellence in healthcare. Mr. Wright, the 2018 Cupola Award recipient, has worked at South Nassau for 30 years, joining the hospital in 1988 as a nursing transporter.  Known and beloved throughout the hospital as 'Willie,' Mr. Wright has a passion to be at the patient's side as they are transported in and out of the hospital, reassuring them and making them feel at home.

The Soirée is South Nassau's most successful annual fundraising effort. This year's format will feature a two-hour, outdoor reception starting at 6:30 PM under the stars that will be highlighted by an unlimited top-shelf open bar, passed hot and cold hors d'oeuvres and a variety of savory food stations.

At 8:30 p.m., the party will move indoors for an hour of first-class, Broadway-quality entertainment followed by a dessert reception. The entertainment will feature performances by four Broadway performers: Tony Award Winner Debbie Gravitte, Sean McDermott who has starred as Chris in Miss Saigon, Whizzer in Falsettos;  gifted vocalist, Bryonha Marie Parham  and Scott Coulter who has received five MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs), five Bistro Awards and two Nightlife Awards for Outstanding Vocalist.

To learn more about the Soirée, purchase tickets or support as a sponsor, call South Nassau's Development office or Lynne Nordone at (516) 377-5360. Or go to http://www.southnassau.org