Start the season of giving by giving the gift of life! Stop by Mather Hospital, 75 North Country Road, Port Jefferson for a Fall Blood Drive on Thursday, Oct. 10 in Conference Room A & B from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. To make an appointment, visit donate.nybc.org. For more information, call 631-473-1320.
Get ready to paint the town pink!
For the 10th year running, Port Jefferson is transforming into a vibrant beacon of hope and awareness as Paint Port Pink takes center stage throughout October. This inspiring initiative, spearheaded by Mather Hospital’s Fortunato Breast Health Center, unites the Village of Port Jefferson, local businesses and the community in a powerful stand against breast cancer.
The streets bathed in a rosy glow and storefronts adorned with pink lights and flags are a visual reminder of the importance of early detection.
This year, the campaign celebrates a decade of success in spreading a vital message: early detection saves lives. Thanks to the generosity of its donors, the Fortunato Breast Health Center has been at the forefront of this fight, investing in cutting-edge 3-D mammography technology that can detect even the tiniest cancers in their earliest stages. Today 70% of breast cancers diagnosed at Fortunato are now caught at Stage zero or one. Breast cancer at these early stages is highly treatable and has a five-year survivor rate at 99%.
But the fight doesn’t stop there. Paint Port Pink, now reaching beyond Port Jefferson to encompass surrounding communities, serves as a powerful reminder for women to prioritize their health. Annual mammograms, starting at age 40, are crucial, and the campaign provides resources and support to ensure everyone has access to these life-saving screenings. Mather Hospital is a member of the Cancer Services Program of Suffolk County which offers free screenings based on age, income and residence. Screenings can take place at the Fortunato Breast Health Center. To learn more, call 631- 548-6320.
Join Port Jefferson in celebrating the power of community, the importance of early detection, and the hope that Paint Port Pink represents. Together, we can make a difference in the fight against breast cancer.
The Paint Port Pink calendar includes:
Oct. 1 — Light the lights! Community partners including the Village of Port Jefferson will light their pink lights and display banners. Mather Hospital’s cupola goes pink as well.
Oct. 3 — Pints for Pink third annual fundraiser for the Fortunato Breast Health Center at the Po’ Boy Brewery in Port Jefferson from 6 to 8 p.m. The $25 admission includes refreshments and free registration for the 2025 Northwell Health Walk at Port Jefferson. Register at matherhospital.org/pintsforpink
Oct. 15 — The second annual EmpowerHER women’s health seminar, this year at the Coram Fire Department’s community room, from 6 to 8 p.m. The $10 registration fee includes a buffet dinner and free registration for the 2025 Northwell Health Walk at Port Jefferson in support of the Fortunato Breast Health Center. Register at matherhospital.org/empowerher
Oct. 18 — Wear Pink Day/National Mammography Day – Get your pink on for this annual event and post photos on social media with #paintportpink.
Become a community partner and decorate your business’ exterior in pink for a chance to win tickets to a 2025 concert at Jones Beach. Send photos of your window by Oct. 20 to [email protected]. Become a community partner at matherhospital.org/paintportpink.
Pink Your Pumpkin — The popular pumpkin decorating contest returns! Find your perfect pumpkin, decorate it in the pinkest fashion possible, take a photo and email your pumpkin photo to [email protected] by Oct. 22. The winner will receive a $100 gift card.
Paint Port Pink is generously sponsored by New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, King Quality, Po’ Boy Brewery, Riverhead Toyota, and Tuscany Gourmet Market.
For more information , visit paintportpink.org or call 631-476-2723.
Stony Brook Cancer Center’s CancerWise Café returns to SBU’s Charles B. Wang Center, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook on Saturday, Sept. 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cancer Center experts will discuss the latest advances in screening, prevention, diagnosis, management and treatment of several types of cancer, along with educational displays, community organization resource tables and lunch.
The event including lunch is free but registration is required by Sept. 22. To RSVP, visit stonybrook.info/cafe2024 or click here.
St. Charles Hospital, 200 Belle Terre Road, Port Jefferson will host a free community lecture, “Permanent Solutions for Acid Reflux,” in the St. Raphael Conference Room, 2nd Floor on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
If you have acid reflux/GERD and want to reduce your dependency on medications, are concerned about their side effects and/or you continue to regurgitate despite PPIs, please join them to learn about permanent solutions with minimally invasive surgical procedures that will improve your quality of life.
Topics will include:
Followed by a Q&A with speaker Arif Ahmad, MD, FRCS, FACS, Director, Acid Reflux and Hiatal HerniaCenter of Excellence at St. Charles Hospital. Light food and refreshments will be served. To register, please call 631-474-6797.
Lou Bove, President & Chief Executive Officer at Bove Industries, Inc., and Jeff Brett, founder and Chief Executive Officer of King Quality Construction, Inc., have been named to the board of the JTM Foundation.
The JTM Foundation works to foster relationships with those individuals and organizations who have a like-minded vision and the desire to support exceptional health care at Mather Hospital for the benefit of our community. Every donation to the JTM Foundation solely benefits Mather Hospital, its programs, services and growth initiatives. Currently the Foundation is focused on philanthropic support for a new Emergency Department, expanded surgery center and other hospital renovations.
Mr. Bove’s company is a New York-based, heavy and civil contracting firm founded in 1985. He is the son of Loretta and the late Vincent Bove, who served as Mayor of Belle Terre for more than 25 years, as a member of the Mather Hospital Board beginning in 1975, and finally as Chairman of the Board when he was elected in 1995.
Mr. Bove, along with his sister, Ginny, carries on his family’s Port Jefferson legacy through his service to our hospital community. Devoted to Mather’s annual Golf Classic, Mr. Bove has been central to raising more than $3 million in support of nursing programs during his 14-year tenure as Golf Classic Chair. He was honored for his work with the Founder’s Award at the 2018 Golf Classic.
Mr. Brett established his company, one of the United States’ largest and most prestigious siding, windows, and roofing contractors, in 1992 with only $150 and grew it into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. He remains grounded in his roots and Port Jefferson, the place where he was born and raised, continues to be his cherished home.
With his wife Natalie and three children, he finds joy in giving back to the community that has shaped him. He generously donates his time, talent, and resources to improve the lives of others. Mr. Brett has served on the Mather Golf Committee for seven years and has supported the hospital’s special events. His many charitable contributions through his King Quality Cares include supplying Thanksgiving meals to the Lighthouse Mission and donating roofs for Habitat for Humanity and Hope House Ministries. He also supports L.I. Against Domestic Violence and John’s Crazy Socks.
Photos courtesy of Mather Hospital.
Fifty members from Mather Hospital’s leadership team in Port Jefferson recently took part in the hospital’s second annual day of service to the community, volunteering with Coastal Steward Long Island (CSLI) at Cedar Beach in Mt. Sinai and at Bethel Hobbs Community Farm in Centereach.
“Our day of service is Mather’s way of giving back to our community while engaging in activities that make us better leaders, team members, and neighbors,” said Executive Director Kevn McGeachy, who was part of the team at Coastal Steward.
Volunteers with CSLI worked at the Mt. Sinai Harbor shellfish facility and cleaned up Cedar Beach. The Coastal Steward team cleaned 80,000 oysters and collected 120 pounds of garbage.
The Bethel Hobbs team from Mather harvested enough kale, collards, and onions to feed 100 families.
Last year’s day of service was at a Habitat for Humanity home build in Mastic Beach and at Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck, a camp for individuals with disabilities, in Center Moriches.
Stony Brook Medicine (SBM) has once again been recognized by the American Heart Association for its commitment to delivering high-quality patient care across cardiovascular and stroke focus areas. This year marks the 14th consecutive year for Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) (2010 – 2024) and the 11th consecutive year forStony Brook Southampton Hospital (SBSH) (2014 – 2024) to receive the Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – StrokeGold Plus achievement award. For the sixth consecutive year, SBUH received the Get With The Guidelines® – Heart FailureGold Plus quality achievement award. Both awards recognize SBM’s dedication to improving outcomes for patients, meaning reduced readmissions and more healthy days at home.
“This recognition by the American Heart Association underscores the unwavering dedication of our healthcare teams to provide exceptional care for our patients,” said Dr. William Wertheim, Executive Vice President of Stony Brook Medicine. “Our continuous recognition over the years highlights our dedication to providing top-tier cardiovascular and stroke care, and we are proud to see the positive impact our efforts have on improving patient outcomes.”
Stroke
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines.
In addition to this year’s Gold Plus achievement, Stony Brook University Hospital once again earned the distinctions of Target: Stroke℠ Elite Honor Roll, Target: Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠ Honor Roll for Stony Brook University Hospital.
Heart Failure
Approximately 6 million U.S. adults live with heart failure, a condition that impairs the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively throughout the body. This can significantly impact a person’s quality of life, causing symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue which is often severe. However, with advanced care, patients can often achieve a better quality of life through lifestyle changes, symptom monitoring, accurate diagnosis, and cutting-edge therapies including state-of-the-art medications and interventions.
The Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy Center at Stony Brook continues to be recognized for its excellence in patient care, having earned the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Heart Failure Gold Plus quality achievement award for the sixth consecutive year. This prestigious honor commends hospitals that consistently demonstrate an unwavering commitment to treating patients according to the latest evidence-based guidelines from the American Heart Association. The award further highlights Stony Brook’s Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy Center’s recognition as Long Island’s only heart failure program to have earned the distinguished Joint Commission Certification for Advanced Heart Failure, a mark of excellence the Center has proudly achieved since 2011. At Stony Brook, the comprehensive heart failure program leverages the most advanced pharmacological therapies, surgical interventions, and breakthrough devices to ensure the highest quality of life for its patients.
Resuscitation
Each year, more than 300,000 adults and children experience an in-hospital cardiac arrest. Survival from cardiac arrest largely depends on timely medical emergency team response and effective CPR.
Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation was developed to help save lives of patients who experience in-hospital cardiac arrests by consistently following the most up-to-date research-based guidelines for treatment as outlined by the American Heart Association. Guidelines include following protocols for patient safety, medical emergency team response, effective and timely resuscitation (CPR) and post-resuscitation care.
Stony Brook University Hospital is also nationally recognized for its commitment to improving cardiac arrest survival rates and received these top-level awards:
About Stony Brook University Hospital:
Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) is Long Island’s premier academic health center. With 624 beds, SBUH serves as the region’s only tertiary care center and Regional Trauma Center, and is home to the Stony Brook University Heart Institute, Stony Brook University Cancer Center, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and Stony Brook University Neurosciences Institute. SBUH also encompasses Suffolk County’s only Level 4 Regional Perinatal Center, state-designated AIDS Center, state-designated Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, state-designated Burn Center, the Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence, and Kidney Transplant Center. It is home of the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/
About Stony Brook Southampton Hospital:
With 124 beds, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital (SBSH) is staffed by more than 280 physicians, dentists, and allied health professionals representing 48 medical specialties. A campus of Stony Brook University Hospital, SBSH offers a diverse array of clinical services, ranging from primary medical care to specialized surgical procedures, including cardiac catheterization, orthopedics and bariatrics. The sole provider of emergency care on Long Island’s South Fork, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is a provisional Level III adult Trauma Center. The hospital includes The Phillips Family Cancer Center, a Heart and Stroke Center, Breast Health Center, The Center for Advanced Wound Healing, Wellness Institute, and 32 satellite care centers throughout the South Fork of Long Island. The hospital is the largest employer on the South Fork with more than 1,200 employees. To learn more, visit www.southampton.
About Get With The Guidelines:
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 14 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
St. Catherine of Siena Hospital, 50 Route 25A, Smithtown hosts a New York Blood Center community blood drive in its Medical Office Building, Lower Level, on Thursday, Aug. 29 from 7 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. and on Friday, Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please remember to eat, drink and bring your ID with your name and photo. Appointments preferred by calling 1-800-933-2566, however walk-ins will be welcomed if space permits.
Catholic Health’s St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson hosted a ceremonial ribbon cutting for its Emergency Department (ED) expansion on Aug. 14. The event was attended by Catholic Health executive leadership, hospital staff, as well as local elected officials and community partners. The newly renovated and expanded emergency department officially opened to patients on Aug. 19.
The $10 million project, was partially funded with a $4.2 million grant from the New York State Facility Transformation program, as well as other funds supported by Catholic Health and philanthropic support. The ED expansion includes an additional 4,000 square feet, doubling the size, with 10 more treatment bays and a larger waiting room.
“St. Charles’ ED expansion will provide an opportunity to better manage patient flow and address the disparate needs of patients seeking emergency care, allowing for the overall higher quality of patient care,” said St. Charles Hospital President James O’Connor. “We are very excited for this major facility improvement, allowing us to continue to meet the emergent medical needs of the communities we serve.”
In addition, the renovations include additional space, which will allow for better patient management of those seeking medically supervised chemical dependency withdrawal and stabilization and rehabilitation services.
“Long Island has a drug problem of epic proportions, but Catholic Health does not run from this challenge,” said Catholic Health President and CEO Patrick O’Shaughnessy, DO, MBA. “St. Charles’ expanded ED will include an additional care environment, offering specialized care for dependency patients. This will allow doctors and nurses to focus on the needs of distinct patient populations, safely and effectively.”
Family experiences, commitment to service, intrigue with biotech advances, drive many of the new 136 RSOM students to pursue medicine
At the Renaissance School of Medicine’s (RSOM) White Coat Ceremony, 136 incoming students officially began their medical school training by taking the Hippocratic Oath and wearing their physician “white coats” for the first time. Held at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center on August 9, the annual ceremony brings students, their families, and faculty together as the academic year begins. The RSOM has held a White Coat Ceremony since 1998.
The incoming Class of 2028 is a highly select group, as only eight percent of all applicants to the RSOM for this academic year were accepted into the program. Collectively, the students received their undergraduate degrees from 57 different colleges and universities around the nation. Stony Brook University had the most representation, as 33 students earned their undergraduate degrees at Stony Brook. While a good portion of the students are from around the country, nearly 75 percent are from New York State.
Peter Igarashi, MD, Knapp Dean of the RSOM, congratulated the incoming class and told the students they are entering the field at a time when the practice of medicine is rapidly evolving and where discoveries to diagnose and treat disease are advancing and newer practices such as telemedicine are becoming commonplace. He emphasized the RSOM’s commitment to science-based medicine, and also urged the students to place the heart of their work around patients, as the practice of medicine is best with a “focus on a strong doctor/patient relationship.”
While the students’ paths into medicine and reasons for choosing the profession are varied, their experiences with family members who suffered from diseases, interest in service to people, and intrigue with advances in biotechnology, appeared to be some common factors for pursuing medicine.
New student stories
Gabriel Chan, a Long Island native, says that a turning point for him when deciding to pursue medicine was when his grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He has entered the RSOM’s Medical Scientist Training Program, or MD/PhD program. Chan starts medical school fresh from a Fulbright Scholar experience in France where he conducted computational neuroscience research at Centre Borelli in Paris.
Reinaldo Powell, graduated in 2024 from Stony Brook with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences. He was eager to enter medicine and felt at home with the RSOM and its approach to education.
“I was always enamored by the role a physician can play in improving the lives of their patients. This was further exacerbated when I lost my mother to lymphoma when I was 14, and this inspired me to pursue a career to help those who hurt and one that looks to understand the specifics behind disease,” says Powell.
Two of the new med students are using their experience in the military as an inspiration and catalyst toward entering medicine.
Juan Diego Carvajal Ramirez, who most recently lived in California, spent time in the U.S. Army as a combat medic. That training sparked his interest in trauma medicine, and he hopes to ultimately specialize in trauma surgery. Additionally, he chose the RSOM because during a conversation with a current fourth-year medical student in the interview process he learned how much hands-on training and mentorship the RSOM faculty provides, something he sees as essential for trauma and emergency training.
Another Stony Brook University graduate and U.S. Army Second Lieutenant, Pamela Chen, found that all of her army training drills, including combat medic training, fit her pursuit of medicine given the discipline the work requires and its focus on teamwork and caring for soldiers.
Chen’s experience of losing her father at a young age due to Parkinson’s disease, her life in the New York City foster care system, and eventually growing up with a permanent family in Bethpage, NY, made her sensitive to the needs of people and families, especially when family members are ill.
Emily Cahill, who hails from Rockland County, NY, worked at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a cell culture lab producing therapeutic antibody candidates for drug development. While she enjoyed the science and laboratory work, it was a program she was involved as an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University designed to improve communication between patients and their caregivers that drove her interest in patient care and people’s stories themselves, not just their illnesses.
Cahill is interested in caring for children. She is enrolled in the RSOM’s three-year MD program and will continue on in a Pediatric Residency position at Stony Brook Medicine after graduation.
Another student, Massachusetts native Henry Wilmot, recently worked in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry in Manhattan in a consulting capacity where he collaborated with clients to support commercialization for products geared to treat rare diseases. Working in biotechnology, he says, was fascinating and had impact but he also felt a disconnect.
Wilmot comes from a family of service professionals including a social worker, paramedic and pediatrician. He felt moved to add this aspect to his career path.
“I knew that I wanted to interact at the human level with patients and bring my experience from the business side of healthcare into the clinic to advocate for patients seeking complex therapeutics.”
Captions:
The Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) welcomed the incoming Class of 2028 in August. Set for their medical school training are, from left, students Gabriel Chan, Henry Wilmot, Reinaldo Powell, and Emily Cahill.
The 136 students comprising the incoming Class recite the Hippocratic Oath for the first time.
Photo Credit:
Arthur Fredericks
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