Annual Auxiliary Gala

TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR THE ANNUAL STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AUXILIARY GALA

Annual Event to Honor Staff and Patients of the Heart Center at SBUMC

  STONY BROOK, NY, August 25, 2008 - On Thursday, September 25, Stony Brook University Hospital Auxiliary will host its

Richard N. Fine, M.D.

annual Gala, celebrating the Stony Brook University Heart Center with an evening reception and dinner at The Inn at East Wind in Wading River. The event promises good food and good company, all to benefit and support programs and services at the Heart Center. The Gala commences at 6 pm during which Richard N. Fine, M.D., Dean, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, will be recognized as a representative of the many grateful patients who have been treated in the Heart Center.

In March 2006, Dr. Fine, top administrator for Stony Brook University Medical Center, experienced the Heart Center in action - as a patient. After experiencing symptoms during morning exercise, Dr. Fine contacted physicians in the Heart Center to take a closer look at his underlying heart disease. After a series of tests, the Heart Center team determined he needed emergency coronary bypass surgery. Dr. Todd Rosengart, Chief, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Co-Director of the Heart Center (and newly appointed interim Chair, Department of Surgery), performed the operation. The surgery went extremely well. He left the hospital after only a few days. By the end of the following week, he went out to dinner with Dr. Rosengart and shortly thereafter resumed all of his life activities.

The Stony Brook University Heart Center offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program for the prevention, diagnosis and

Dr. Todd Rosengart

treatment of cardiovascular disease. Its staff includes 50 full-time and community-based, board-certified cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons, as well as 350 specially trained anesthesiologists, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, operating room technicians, perfusionists, and other support staff. Their expertise allows Stony Brook to offer state-of-the-art interventional and surgical capabilities in 24-hour cardiac catheterization labs and surgical suites. The Heart Center is located within Long Island's only university-based medical center. Not only does Stony Brook offer the latest advances in medicine, but physician-scientists are also actively enhancing knowledge of the heart and blood vessels through basic biomedical studies and clinical research.

To date, the Stony Brook University Hospital Auxiliary has raised almost $6 million, used to support many employee activities, purchase state-of-the-art hospital equipment and enhance patient care. Most recently funds raised by the Auxiliary were used to purchase a new ambulance and a new non-invasive blood flow monitoring device called a Cardio Q, a special monitor that helps determine blood flow in critically ill patients.

The Auxiliary derives its funding from the Auxiliary Gift Shop, in-house vendor sales and annual fundraising events such as the Gala. Auxiliary membership benefits include an invitation to the annual luncheon, advance notice of all special events, quarterly newsletters and an annual report. Sponsorship packages specifically for the Gala are also available. In addition to special recognition in the Gala program, package holders will receive tickets to the event and listings on the "Scroll of Honor". Sponsorship package prices range from $500 to $25,000.

Individual tickets are $175 and sponsorship packages begin at $500. To purchase tickets or to learn more about sponsorship opportunities please contact Jennifer Desposito at (631) 444-3956 or the Office for Community Affairs at (631) 444-4070.