FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Andy LaGuardia
(914) 493-6532
andrew.laguardia@wmchealth.org
VALHALLA, N.Y. (June 17, 2016) – More than 600 people were on hand for the 37th Annual Westchester Medical Center Gala to benefit Westchester Medical Center, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital and Behavioral Health Center, all members of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network. The Gala was held earlier this month at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.
The evening's highlight was the surprise appearance of Taylor Rose Clark, 19, of East Rockaway, New York, during the presentation to Physician Honoree David Spielvogel, M.D., Westchester Medical Center's Program Director of Heart Transplantation. With her heart failing, Clark spent four months at Westchester Medical Center earlier this year awaiting a transplant. When a heart became available, Dr. Spielvogel led the team that performed the procedure, saving Clark's life. She was home less than two weeks after her transplant and Clark's appearance at the Gala came just seven weeks after the procedure.
The following awards were presented at the event:
John F. Heimerdinger Lifetime of Service Award
- Alice Marie and Thomas E. Hales
Spirit of Giving Award
- Emil and Emily Panichi; James and Evelyn Constantino
Spirit of Healing Award
- Richard Statuto, President and CEO, Bon Secours Health System, Inc.
- Mark Nantz, Executive Vice President, Strategy & Growth Market Leader – SC and NY Bon Secours Health System, Inc.
- Mary P. Leahy, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Bon Secours Charity Health System
Physician Honorees
- Pediatric Surgery Program Founders: Robert Cristofaro, M.D., Orthopedic Surgery; Samuel Kasoff, M.D. (in memoriam), Neurosurgery; Augustine L. Moscatello, M.D., Otolaryngology Faustino N. Niguidula, M.D., Cardiothoracic Surgery; Jane A. Petro, M.D., Plastic Surgery; Edward F. Reda, M.D., Urology; J. Anthony SanFillippo, M.D., General Surgery; Michel Slim, M.D. (in memoriam), Trauma Surgery; Gustavo Stringel, M.D., General Surgery
- Sateesh Babu, MD, Chief, Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, Westchester Medical Center and Pravin M. Shah, MD, Vascular Surgeon, Westchester Medical Center
- David A. Spielvogel, MD, Program Director, Heart Transplantation, Westchester Medical Center
Sponsors of the 2016 Gala included:
Gold: Boston Children's Health Physicians; ENT Faculty Practice, LLP; Fareri Associates and Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters
Silver: Bon Secours Health System, Inc; Crystal Run Healthcare and Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Underwriters: Westchester Medical Center Department of Medicine; Clean Air Quality Service, Inc; Brown, Gruttadaro, Gaujean & Prato, LLP; Lianne Hales Dugan & Sean F.X. Dugan; Empress Emergency Medical Services; Farrell Fritz, PC; Garfunkel Wild, PC; Gross & Edelstein, LLP; Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Hales; Herb Redl Properties; Iona College; Marist College and Teahan & Constantino LLP.
About Westchester Medical Center, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Westchester Medical Center is the premier provider of advanced medical care in New York's Hudson Valley region. The flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, this 895-bed academic hospital located in Valhalla, New York, provides local residents with acute care services - Level I trauma and burn care, organ transplants and advanced neurovascular procedures and more - found nowhere else in the region. Westchester Medical Center is the primary referral facility for other hospitals in the Hudson Valley and serves as a lifeline for more than 3.5 million people. To learn more about Westchester Medical Center and the vital services it provides to residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond, visit www.WestchesterMedicalCenter.org or follow Westchester Medical Center at www.Facebook.com/WestchesterMedicalCenter or www.Twitter.com/WestchesterMed.
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with 10 hospitals on eight campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 12,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. From Level 1, Level 2 and Pediatric Trauma Centers, the region's only acute care children's hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, homecare services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State, today WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated healthcare in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit www.WMCHealth.org.
###