The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to South Nassau Communities Hospital in support of the hospital’s Center for Cardiovascular Health and its HOST (Heart Outreach Study Tract) Program for medically underserved individuals. The grant will also be used to support free cardiac health screenings throughout the year.
“Both the Center for Cardiovascular Health and the HOST program allow the Hospital to extend their exemplary services to the men and women who need them most,” said Robert A. Isaksen, Long Island market president, Bank of America. “This commitment to the community is a shared ideal, which is reflected by our financial support.”
“On behalf of our patients and the board of directors, administration, doctors, nurses, and staff members, I humbly thank the Bank of America for its generosity, trust and support,” said Joseph A. Quagliata, president and CEO at South Nassau. “We are a mission-driven organization that understands that our singular purpose is to provide standard-setting healthcare services to the patients we serve regardless of their race, creed or ability to pay.”
South Nassau will be offering free blood pressure screenings at the Village of Freeport’s celebration of Go Red for Women Day on Feb. 5, 2010 at the Freeport Recreational Center. The hospital and Bank of America are pleased to work with Mayor Andrew Hardwick’s office to offer this program to the residents of Freeport and the surrounding communities.
Cardiovascular disease remains particularly prevalent in the communities served by South Nassau, where more than 40% of residents are low-income and/ or minority individuals – a population that is disproportionately affected by cardiovascular disease. Community surveys show that both African-Americans and Latinos – regardless of socioeconomic status – are less knowledgeable about cardiovascular disease symptoms, risk factors, and methods of prevention. These factors are compounded by the fact that patients in poor and minority communities are frequently diagnosed at late stages of disease, thereby depriving them of the benefits of treatment advances in the management of cardiovascular disease.
South Nassau’s HOST program was developed to address these and other medically underserved communities and, since its inception in 2007, the program has provided educational services to 1008 members of the community and health assessment and screening services to 403 individuals, at no cost to participants. Outreach and education is accomplished through partnerships, seminars and community-based health screenings. Health education seminars focus on cardiovascular disease risk factors, signs, and symptoms and behavior changes that can reduce these risks and current treatment options. Those who are identified as at elevated risk are referred for follow-up, either through the South Nassau Family Medicine Center, or with a physician of their own choosing.
South Nassau’s Center for Cardiovascular Health provides a wide range of coronary and peripheral interventional procedures, including balloon angioplasty, stenting, and thrombolytic therapy. The center’s electrophysiologists treat the range of cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) and defibrillator complications and specialize in diagnostic studies; implantation and testing of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators;
South Nassau earned two prestigious honors for excellence in cardiac care in 2009: the Gold Performance Achievement Award in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) from the American Heart Association/
South Nassau Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 875 physicians and 2,600 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-
Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy
Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, last year Bank of America embarked on a ten-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2008, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches investing through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Bank associate volunteers contributed more than 900,000 hours in 2008 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/
