Mr. Santino was the Carnation Ball’s honoree and Dr. Ostuni was the recipient of South Nassau’s prestigious Mary Pearson Award.

1. News From:
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Damian Becker, Manager of Media Relations
(516) 377-5370
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Councilman Santino, Dr. Ostuni
Honored at 2013 Carnation Ball
Oceanside, NY – Senior Town of Hempstead Council Member The Honorable Anthony J. Santino, and
John A. Ostuni, M.D., were honored at South Nassau Communities Hospital’s 2013 Annual Carnation Ball held
Saturday, November 2 at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Westbury. The Carnation Ball raised more than
$635,000 in support of the Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center at South Nassau Communities Hospital.
Mr. Santino was the Carnation Ball’s honoree and Dr. Ostuni was the recipient of South Nassau’s
prestigious Mary Pearson Award. South Nassau administrators, board members and medical staff members, as
well as many of the region’s healthcare executives, state and local public officials and business and community
leaders were among the nearly 550 guests who attended the event.
“The good works of this evening’s guests of honor, combined with the support and generosity of our
devoted friends, are a driving force behind South Nassau’s tradition of excellence in the delivery of healthcare
services,” said Richard J. Murphy, president and CEO of South Nassau. “On behalf of the communities and
patients that turn to South Nassau for the quality healthcare that they deserve, I thank Councilman Santino and
Dr. Ostuni for their dedication to South Nassau’s mission.”
The Carnation Ball honoree is recognized for exemplary leadership and contributions in support of South
Nassau’s mission. Councilman Santino has been an ardent advocate for South Nassau, providing advice and
insight to facilitate solutions to the challenges faced by the hospital.
Councilman Santino represents the Town of Hempstead’s Fourth Council District. He was re-elected to
his sixth consecutive term as a member of the Hempstead Town Board in November 2011. His tenure as a
public servant has been marked by legislative achievements that have enhanced the quality of life of residents of
the communities served by South Nassau.
He authored and sponsored the landmark legislation that brought library services to previously un-served
residents in the town's unincorporated communities. The creation of the Bay Park Library District was a first-ofits-kind effort to expand library service in New York State through the creation of a library district that contracts
with an existing, neighboring library and has served as a model for other Long Island communities to expand
library service to their residents.

2. Councilman Santino is devoted to volunteering his time and talents to numerous religious, charitable,
fraternal and community-based organizations. He is a member of the Order Sons of Italy in America, a charter
member of the Msgr. Walsh-St. Raymond's Council #7220 Knights of Columbus and is also involved in the
Kiwanis Club of East Rockaway and the St. Raymond's Parish (East Rockaway, NY) Holy Name Society. In
addition, Councilman Santino is a volunteer for the non-for-profit Italian-Americans in Government Committee,
the American Committee on Italian Migration and the Iroquois District of the Nassau County Boy Scouts of
America, serving on the Eagle Scout Board of Review.
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. A past honoree of the Carnation Ball, Dr. Ostuni has logged nearly 35 years
of dedicated service in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology with South Nassau.
During that time, he has provided his leadership and medical acumen to the growth and expansion of the
hospital, serving as South Nassau’s Medical Director from 1991-1997; Vice President of Medical Staff from
1989-1990; President of Medical Staff from 1990-1992 and Co-Chair of the Hospital’s President’s Club. He was
the Honoree of South Nassau’s 2000 Carnation Ball.
A Past President of the Medical Society of the State of New York, Dr. Ostuni has served as President of
the Nassau County Medical Society, Vice President of the Metro-IPA of Greater New York and President of the
Nassau Academy of Medicine. He has been recognized by the American Diabetes Association with a Certificate
of Recognition with Distinction for Delivery of Quality Diabetes Care.
“This evening’s proceeds will help ensure that the communities and residents served by South Nassau
continue to have convenient access to the most advanced cancer care available anywhere,” said Elizabeth
Nardone, South Nassau’s vice president of development. “We are thankful for the many generous and
benevolent sponsors, including Exclusive Ball Sponsor Neurological Surgery, P.C., and the devoted efforts of
the Carnation Ball Committee and volunteers.”
Treating approximately 1,500 patients annually, the Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center has evolved
into one of the Northeast corridor’s premiere providers of compassionate advanced cancer care. In 2012, South
Nassau was one of just seven hospitals in New York and only 84 in the United States to be named a recipient of
the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award. South Nassau is
one of just seven hospitals in New York and only 84 in the United States to receive the prestigious award in
2012.
The center is the only one on Long Island that is equipped with three of the most advanced and effective
technologies used to treat and eradicate cancer: the Varian Novalis Tx™, da Vinci® Surgical System and
Gamma Knife® Perfexion.
In addition to its Cancer Center in Valley Stream, NY, The Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center
incorporates the following specialty cancer care services:
•
GYN Oncology Department (Valley Stream)

3. •
Long Island Gamma Knife® Center (Oceanside)
•
Center for Prostate Health Program (Oceanside)
•
Center for Breast Health (Oceanside)
•
Center for Lung Health (Oceanside/Valley Stream)
•
Radiation Oncology Department (Oceanside and Valley Stream)
•
Surgical Oncology Department (Oceanside and Valley Stream)
•
Complete Women’s Imaging Center (Oceanside)
•
South Nassau’s PET/CT Service (Oceanside)
South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than
900 physicians and 3,000 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit
teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain
management, mental health and emergency services. In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers,
South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty and is the only hospital on Long Island with the
Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies. South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by
the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American
College of Surgeons and is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality
Improvement Program. For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.
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