South Nassau Communities Hospital has named lung cancer surgeon Dr. Shahriyour Andaz, director of thoracic oncology. Dr. Andaz joins South Nassau following his tenure at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of Thoracic Surgery, where he was a clinical assistant professor."Our commitment is to provide world-class specialists, peerless technologies and advanced therapies so that Long Islanders don't have to leave their neighborhoods to access the services and care they need and deserve to fight this dreadful disease," said Akram Boutros, executive vice president of administration and chief medical officer. Before joining UCLA's thoracic department in 2003, Dr. Andaz was an attending cardiothoracic surgeon from 2001-03 at Brookdale, Coney Island and Lutheran Hospitals and Maimonides Medical Center, where he was a cardiothoracic Fellow from 1998-2001. Dr Andaz moved to the US after serving as the rotating surgical registrar in general and vascular surgery for Basingstroke District Hospital, University College Hospital and Mount Vernon Hospital in the United Kingdom from 1988-93. From 1993-98, Dr. Andaz completed his U.S. surgical residency training at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, an affiliate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Heartfelt stitches for SNCH's tots
Ever since she was a child, Barbara Barnhart, a former South Nassau Hospital volunteer, knitted. As a young mother she knitted sweaters for her four children and gifts for friends. But it wasn't until her grandchildren were born that she began to knit tiny hats and booties. While browsing through a knitting magazine, the Lynbrook resident learned about Stitches From the Heart, a non-profit, charitable organization whose members knit for premature and needy babies and children. Soon she was knitting tiny caps and blankets for premature infants and shipping them to the Los Angeles-based organization for distribution across the U.S.But with each shipment, she sais she wondered why she was sending the items across the country when there were needy and premature newborns on Nasssau's South Shore. With the approval of Stitches From the Heart, Barnhart, the representative for the organization's New York chapter, approached South Nassau officials to discuss delivering the items to the hospital's Maternity Unit. "We were the first hospital on Long Island to receive the donations from this organization," said Robin Grass, R.N., director of Community Medicine. "This program has been such a blessing to South Nassau. They bring so much love and warmth to these infants and their parents."Barnhart said during the past two years, more than 50 men and women from Nassau County have knit 400 hats, blankets and booties for newborns at South Nassau. The knitters donate their labor and the cost of the yarn and other materials.For more information about Stitches from the Heart, call (516) 377-5333.
LMBC diabetes pain management course
The Diabetes Support Group of Long Beach Medical Center will feature a lecture, "Pain Management Options for People with Diabetic Neuropathy," March 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hospital's Goldstein Auditorium. Dr. Anil Patel a specialist in pain management, will discuss the latest options in relieving pain associated with diabetic neuropathy. All are welcome. For more information, call The Diabetes Education Center at Long Beach Medical Center at 897-4354.
Mihalich SNCH's director of Facilities Management
South Nassau Communities Hospital has promoted Joseph Mihalich to Director of Facilities Management from Director of Engineering.In his new position, he will oversee all construction projects for the hospital and its properties and supervise maintenance of all facilities. "I have the greatest admiration for all Joe has done for South Nassau over the past 15 years," said Joseph Quagliata, president and CEO of SNCH. "He has demonstrated professional skill and has provided invaluable direction." Mihalich has risen through the ranks at SNCH since joining the staff in 1990. He began his career as an engineering aide, and by 1996 he was promoted to Assistant Director of Engineering and to Director in 1997. "It has been exciting to be a part of the hospital at a key time of its growth," Mihalich said. "I look forward to my new expanded role and leadership responsibilities." In 2003 he received an employer recognition award for assisting and supporting employees with special needs from the End Stage Renal Disease Network of New York. The not-for-profit organization helps facilities develop procedures and practices that improve quality of care and life for kidney patients. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1989 and a master's degree in business administration in 2004. Both degrees are from New York Institute of Technology.For more than 20 years Mihalich has served as a firefighter with the East Rockaway Fire Department. He served four terms as captain, from 1989 to 1991 and 1997 to 1998. He and his wife, Denise, live with their two children, Kristen, 6, and Joseph, 4, in East Rockaway.
