August 19, 2015

Jeffrey P. Rust, a partner at Farrell Fritz, P.C. specializing in health law, was named Mather Hospital’s 2015 Community Honoree. Richard Savino, MD, Dinesh Shukla, MD, and Joanne Lauten, RN were named the 2015 winners of the Theodore Roosevelt Awards for their contributions to Mather Hospital and the community.

The awards will be presented at the Hospital’s 50th annual One Enchanted Evening Gala on Friday, October 23 at the Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge.

Mather selects a special Community Honoree that has supported the Hospital and its programs over the years. The Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council created the Theodore Roosevelt Awards more than 50 years ago to honor those who demonstrate exceptional volunteer commitment to a member hospital and its community.

2015 Community Honoree

Jeffrey P. Rust, Esq.

Rust is a partner at the law firm of Farrell Fritz, P.C., specializing in health law. He regularly represents hospitals, physicians, physician groups and other professionals in transactional and regulatory matters.

Rust also provides legal guidance on a pro bono basis to not-for-profit organizations on Long Island and in New York City.  He has provided pro-bono services to organizations that assist children and the elderly, to entities that support research for the treatment and cure of disease, and to community development organizations that support economic growth and the restoration of public lands.

Through his firm, he has been an active supporter of Long Island hospitals including Mather. Rust serves as chairman of the board for the Arthritis Foundation’s Law Island chapter and as a director on the Arthritis Foundation’s Northeast Regional Board.

Rust was named to The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Health Law 2013-2015, featured in Who’s Who in Health Care Law, Long Island Business News, 2014 and 2015; and is a recipient of the Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center Public Service Attorney of the Year Award.

Rust received an M.B.A and a J.D. from the University of Akron in Ohio and his B.S. degree in management from The State University of New York at Geneseo. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Health Law Section and the New York Bar Association, Health Law Section and Business Law Section.

A Long Island native, he and his wife, Lenore, reside in Garden city and are the parents of three children.

2015 Theodore Roosevelt Award Honorees

Richard Savino, MD

Dr. Savino is a board certified orthopedic surgeon who returned home to Long Island to join Long Island Bone and Joint in Port Jefferson. He was on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University Hospital where his responsibilities included being a team physician for the Baltimore Orioles and the Johns Hopkins University athletic department. In addition, he has served as a physician for the U.S. Open at Bethpage and at Shinnecock Hills.

Dr. Savino received his undergraduate degree at Boston College where he majored in biology and theology and was the recipient of a student athletic trainer scholarship. He received his medical degree from The State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse and residency at Temple University Hospital, and trained in pediatric orthopedics at Shriner’s Hospital for Children. While a resident, he won the prestigious Resident Bowl from the Philadelphia Orthopedic Society in 2000.

He is a member of physician leadership at Mather Hospital where his appointments have included President of the Medical Staff and Chairman of the Medical Board and sits on multiple committees including the Physician Leadership committee.

Dr. Savino specializes in computer assisted and minimally invasive surgery and joint replacement and is a frequent speaker at Mather’s Total Joint Replacement seminars. He also is one of the few physicians performing hip arthroscopic surgery including labral repairs.

Dr. Savino has also volunteered for medical missions to Nicaragua and Ecuador with Blanca’s House and was named Blanca’s House Man of the Year in 2014.  Dr Savino has been awarded an International Faculty position with Maxx Medical Corporation and has lectured and trained surgeons in countries as distant as India. He also was appointed to a Bioterrorism task force to ensure Long Island physicians are prepared for the next disaster.

Dr. Savino and his wife, Lynn, live in Port Jefferson and have two children.

Dinesh Shukla, MD

Dr. Shukla is the Chief of Neurology and Director of Mather Hospital’s Stroke Center, a dedicated unit that provides rapid diagnosis and treatment of brain attack symptoms. Dr. Shukla takes great pride in his position as Stroke Director. Over the last few years, he and his team saw the establishment of the Stroke Program and its evolution. It has been recognized for the Gold Plus Target Stroke Award from the American Stroke Association for the past three years (2012-2015).

Dr. Shukla received his undergraduate and medical school degrees from Delhi University in India. He studied Neurosurgery at NYU for one year, completed his Neurology residency from New York Medical College and a fellowship in Neurophysiology from Downstate Medical Center in NY.  He moved to Port Jefferson following his Fellowship and has remained in the area for the last 40 years. He has been an Attending Neurologist in Mather Hospital and has a practice in Port Jefferson.

Over the years he has volunteered and consulted with the office of New York State Developmental Disabilities and New York State Office of Mental Health. He is board certified in Neurology and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Dr. Shukla has a keen interest in teaching and mentoring his younger colleagues. Over the last 30 years he has taught medical students and residents of Columbia University affiliated programs, NY Medical College and Stony Brook University. He has lectured to students at Port Jefferson High School and in the community.

Dr. Shukla lives in Port Jefferson with his wife and two sons. He is deeply appreciative of his roots here and considers it an honor to serve this community.

Joanne Lauten, BSN, RN, SCRN

Lauten is Director of Nursing Quality and the Stroke Coordinator at Mather Hospital.

She has 35 years of professional nursing experience in a wide range of clinical, teaching and leadership positions. Her career spans diverse clinical settings in both acute and community healthcare settings such as emergency departments, case management and home care.

Lauten received a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Chamberlain College. She holds professional certification as a stroke nurse from the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC). She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the prestigious International Honor Society of Nursing, the American Nurses’ Association (ANA), New York Organization of Nurse Executives and Leaders (NYONEL) and the American Heart/Stroke Association. She is the recording secretary for the Greater New York/ Metropolitan Area Stroke Coordinators’ Consortium and serves as a member of the American Heart Association Education Committee.

Lauten has extensive experience in community education programs delivering the message that education empowers individuals to maintain health and wellness. She has lectured widely to senior citizens and other "at risk" groups on heart disease and stroke prevention and was one of the first healthcare leaders to bring stroke education to elementary school students in Suffolk County. She partners with EMS staff regarding evidence-based, "best" practices in stroke care in order to improve patient care outcomes.

Annually, Lauten takes a leadership role in the American Heart Association "Go Red for Women" Campaign at Mather. In collaboration with Dr. Shukla, a physician champion in heart disease prevention, she has raised more than $2,000 for this cause. Under their guidance, Mather has consecutively been awarded the Gold Plus Target Stroke Award from the American Stroke Association for the past three years (2012-2015). Lauten was selected to deliver podium presentations on stroke prevention and her role as stroke coordinator at national conferences, including the North East Cerebral Vascular Consortium in Boston and the Greater New York Stroke Coordinators’ Consortium in New York City.

She her husband, Bruce, live in Selden. Together they have raised two adult children and have two grandchildren. Lauten has served as president of the New Lane Elementary School PTA and as a member of the St. Anthony’s High School Mothers Guild.

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 seven consecutive top "A" ratings from The Leapfrog Group for patient safety.