April 21, 2015

The John T. Mather Memorial Hospital Auxiliary has presented the Hospital with a $220,000 donation, the proceeds of its 2014 fundraising activities.

The donation was announced at Mather’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Party on Sunday, April 19, 2015 and will be used toward the construction of the new Arthur & Linda Calace Family Pavilion. The pavilion will house a 35 single-bedded patient care unit, offices and teaching facilities for Mather’s Graduate Medical Education program and a state-of-the-art conference center. The pavilion is scheduled to open in July.

The Auxiliary has raised almost $6 million for Mather Hospital since its founding in 1949. The funds come from its Thrift Shop, Gift Shop, lobby sales, Fashion Show, raffles and other activities.

The Auxiliary also presented college awards to Junior Volunteers who completed a minimum of 300 hours of service and demonstrated excellence in volunteering as well as in academic and extracurricular achievement. Receiving the awards were Samantha Brindley, senior, Miller Place High School (374 hours); Silvan Altinok, senior, Miller Place High School (316 hours); Kevin Preller, senior, Comsewogue High School (387 hours); and Megan Netuschil, senior, Sachem North High School (414 hours).

Volunteers were honored for their hours and years of service to Mather. Among those honored were Dorothy Milau, who has given 38,000 hours over 54 years, and Ida Forstel, 14,000 hours over 22 years.

John T. Mather Memorial Hospital is an accredited 248-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of high quality healthcare services to Suffolk County residents, showing compassion and respect and treating each patient in the manner we would wish for our loved ones. Mather has earned the prestigious Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which recognizes healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. Mather also has received six consecutive top "A" ratings from The Leapfrog Group for patient safety, and was ranked among the top hospitals in New York State by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals.

Pictured: Mather President Kenneth Roberts; Ann Bayard, Recording Secretary; Louise Grinere, Second VP;  Dorothy Duggan, Treasurer; Barbara Zinna, President; Ida Fortsel, First Vice President; Dorothy Milau, Auxiliary Member; Kenneth Jacoppi, Mather Chairman; Nancy Hutchinson, Corresponding Secretary; Keri Dunne, Director of Volunteer Services.