Developer Bruce Ratner To Be Honored at South Nassau’s 2015 Carnation Ball

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. - Oct. 14, 2015 - PRLog -- Bruce C. Ratner, Executive Chairman of Forest City Ratner Companies, has agreed to be the honoree of South Nassau Communities Hospital’s 2015 Annual Carnation Ball to be held Saturday, November 7 at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY.  The hospital also named Joshua Kugler, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, South Nassau’s chair of the department of emergency medicine, as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Mary Pearson Award.

“Bruce Ratner is a visionary and one of New York’s leading real estate developers,” said Richard J. Murphy, president and CEO of South Nassau. “His firm has been at the forefront of a number of transformative projects, including Barclays Center in Brooklyn and now the redevelopment of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum site. We are grateful that he has agreed to lend his support to South Nassau for our biggest fundraising event of the year,” said Richard J. Murphy, President and CEO of South Nassau.

“And Dr. Kugler’s leadership of our Emergency Department has been instrumental during a time of tremendous growth in the number of patients who pass through the ER,” added Murphy. “The ER is really our front door. Patients come to us there usually in a time of great need and anxiety. Dr. Kugler sets the standard for compassionate and competent care. He is a true leader, always willing to go above and beyond to help patients. He also has been key in the successful effort to open an Emergency Department in Long Beach. He is very deserving of the hospital’s highest honor.”

The money raised by the 2015 Carnation Ball will support South Nassau’s “Emergency Department Expansion Campaign.”  The campaign is a five-year, $10 million fundraising initiative to help pay for a $60 million renovation and expansion of the Oceanside Emergency Department, serving  all residents of the South Shore from Queens to Suffolk. The expansion project will increase the Emergency Department’s square footage from 16,000 to 30,000 square feet, increasing its overall size by 87%.

To purchase tickets or support as a sponsor of the 2015 Carnation Ball, call South Nassau’s Development office or Lynne Nordone at (516) 377-5360.

Mr. Ratner is executive chairman of Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), a real estate development firm he founded in 1985. Since then, FCRC has developed nearly 17 million square feet of residential, retail, office and sports and entertainment space.

An agent of change, leading bold, transformative projects that have shaped and will shape the future of New York City and Long Island, Mr. Ratner and FCRC have played a crucial role in developing many of the region’s most innovative projects.  This includes Brooklyn’s MetroTech Center, the New York Times Building, and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center arena, which is home to the Brooklyn Nets, the new home of the New York Islanders and host site of championship college basketball and world championship boxing.

Mr. Ratner is an active philanthropist, generously lending his time and talents to a broad range of interests ranging from the arts to education to healthcare.  Mr. Ratner, who lost over 100 members of his family in the Holocaust, is Chairman of the Board of the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.  Mr. Ratner also serves as a board member of the Weill Cornell Medical College and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The hospital’s Mary Pearson Award is presented annually to an individual for extraordinary effort and individual contributions that significantly advance South Nassau’s commitment to compassionate care and standard setting healthcare services.  Dr. Kugler’s 15-year tenure as chair of the department of emergency medicine at South Nassau is marked by leadership, innovation and advancements in emergency medical care.

South Nassau restored emergency medical healthcare services to the residents of Long Beach on Aug. 10^th and surrounding communities with the opening of the South Nassau Emergency Department at Long Beach, located on the site of the shuttered Long Beach Medical Center.  Dr. Kugler helped oversee the $8 million retrofitting of the facility as well as the increase in staffing required for a 24/7 Emergency Department operation.

The emergency department at South Nassau’s main campus in Oceanside, meanwhile, has cemented its status as one of Long Island’s most efficient and advanced under Dr. Kugler’s guidance.

In addition to his role as chair of emergency medicine, Dr. Kugler also serves as the co-chair of the ED Steering committee and serves actively across several other integral operational committees, including EMR steering, utilization and Emergency Management.  He is the Medical Director for the Oceanside Fire Department and supports the Nassau County Police Department.

Dr. Kugler is a graduate of Duke University (BS Physics/ Zoology), University of Pittsburgh (MD) and Harvard University (SM, MHCM).  Dr. Kugler served in the United States Navy for nine years in both operational and clinical roles.  He completed his service in 1999 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.  His naval medical training began in General Surgery at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda and continued at the Naval Aerospace and Operational Medical Institute.  Upon discharge he completed a full residency, including the role of Chief Resident in Emergency Medicine at NYU/North Shore.  In 2013, he was awarded both the prestigious New York State (NYS) Emergency Medical Services Council’s and Nassau County Regional Emergency Medical Services Council’s Physician of Excellence Award.