SNCH names Carnation Ball honorees

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Paul Black, chief executive officer of Allscripts, a healthcare information technology solutions company, has been named the corporate honoree of South Nassau Communities Hospital’s 2016 Annual Carnation Ball. Former Long Island Rail Road president Helena Williams was named the Mary Pearson Award recipient.

Two South Nassau health care leaders, Dr. Luke LiCalzi of Rockville Centre, and Trauma Nurse Margaret Puya, won the Cupola and Community awards respectively.

This year’s gala will be held on Nov. at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY. Last year’s Carnation Ball raised over $607,000 (net) to support the Emergency Department expansion campaign. Monies raised this year will also go to the campaign.

“Paul is a visionary and leader of the healthcare industry’s development of and transition to electronic healthcare information technology,” said Richard Murphy, president and CEO of South Nassau. “Since our hospital has partnered with AllScripts, I could not be more pleased with the relative ease and expert technical handling that the company has used to implement the customized electronic health and medical records system that has enhanced our patient care, organizational efficiency and stream-lined our internal communications.

“The Allscripts technology also has allowed us to make medical records more easily available not only to staff but to patients,” Murphy added.

South Nassau Board of Director’s Chairman Joseph Fennessy praised the honorees for their work on behalf of the hospital and the 900,000 residents along the South Shore of Nassau County that it serves.

Williams, Chief Development Officer for RATP Dev America, served as a South Nassau board member and remains on the hospital’s advisory board. Dr. LiCalzi recently retired after a distinguished career as a vascular surgeon at South Nassau. And Puya was a key leader in the hospital’s effort to retain Trauma Center status under new, higher standards of the American College of Surgeons.

“Ms. Williams has a proven record of service to our community, both in the public and private sectors. Together with Ms. Puya and Dr. LiCalzi, they have all shown tremendous dedication to South Nassau and our mission,” said Fennessy. “Their tireless dedication on behalf of our patients embodies the essence of the awards they are receiving. We could not let their work go unrecognized.”

As CEO of Allscripts, Black provides the strategic leadership that the company needs to fulfill its global commitment to build open, connected communities of health. Prior to joining Allscripts in 2012, Black spent more than 13 years with Cerner Corporation in various executive positions, retiring as Cerner’s chief operating officer in 2007. During his tenure with Cerner, he helped build the company into a market leader in healthcare information technology with more than $1.5 billion in annual revenue. He also spent 12 years with IBM Corporation in a variety of leadership positions in sales, product marketing and professional services.

South Nassau’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. Ms. Williams, a transportation industry leader, served as the first female president of the Long Island Rail Road, the nation’s busiest commuter rail system, and as President of Long Island Bus (currently the NICE bus system).

South Nassau established the Cupola Award in 2015 to be presented annually to a deserving hospital employee who goes above and beyond their duties and lives by the hospital mission to promote excellence in healthcare. Ms. Puya was a catalyst in South Nassau’s achieving Trauma Center verification from the American College of Surgeons this past spring, which included upgrading the hospital’s trauma care capabilities to meet a more rigorous on-site review and standard.

Community Honoree Dr. LiCalzi established an exemplary decades-long career in medicine. An accomplished vascular surgeon, Dr. LiCalzi joined South Nassau in 1982 and has served as director of the Vascular Surgery Division in the Department of Surgery since 1992. Recently retired, Dr. LiCalzi was also in private practice with South Nassau Medical Group, P.C. in Rockville Centre.