Party Raises Nearly $300K For Good Samaritan Hospital Emergency Department Expansion

The 27th Annual Good Samaritan Spring Ball raised nearly $300,000 to help pay for ongoing expansion of the at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Suffern.

were honored at the black-tie affair for their service to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. More than 500 hospital supporters enjoyed the “Night In Monte Carlo” themed evening at the Rockleigh Country Club, chaired by Kathy Medici and Janetlee Pillitteri.

Major sponsors of the Ball were the Good Samaritan Medical Staff, MedExcel USA, Ramapo Anesthesiologists and Provident Bank.

Veteran banker and Rockland County civic leader Harold J. Peterson was presented the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center Medal of Honor. Standing ovations saluted Peterson, founder and 26-year chairman of the ARC Golf Classic, who has helped to raise nearly $1 million for people with developmental disabilities.

He currently serves as president of the ARC Foundation, and is a member of the Good Samaritan Foundation Board of Directors. Peterson is senior vice president and senior managing director for Provident Bank. He and his wife Stella live in New City; they have two children and two grandchildren.

Dr. Thomas L. Facelle, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center’s director of surgery since 2008 and its chief of trauma services since 1995, was presented the Sister Joseph Rita Award for Medical Excellence. Facelle also co-chairs the medical center’s Cancer Committee, and has received extensive training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

A former Rockland County finance commissioner, Peterson serves as a board member for the Rockland Business Association, United Hospice of Rockland, Meals on Wheels and the Clarkstown Education Foundation. He also serves as a member of the St. Thomas Aquinas College President’s Council and the Dominican College Palisades Institute. He was a 10-year member of the Rockland Community College Foundation, a 10-year board member for Child Care Resources of Rockland and a 12-year member of the Nyack Hospital Board of Trustees.

In 1990, ARC awarded Mr. Peterson with its Humanitarian Award. In 2007, Child Care Resources of Rockland presented him its Purple Crayon Award.

Early in his career, Facelle completed surgical training at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and served three years in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps. He has been a clinical instructor in surgery at New York Medical College since 1987, the year he joined Ramapo Valley Surgical Associates. In 1990, Facelle was the first surgeon in Rockland County to perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy. He has pursued considerable laparoscopic training at major laboratory facilities in four states, and advanced hernia training in Miami.

As a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and the National Board of Medical Examiners, Facelle brings a wealth of expertise and care to his patients and to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. He is married to Dr. Joan H. Facelle, Rockland County's health commissioner; they have three children.