Mount Sinai South Nassau Gala To Support Open-Heart Surgery Expansion

OCEANSIDE, NY — Mount Sinai South Nassau will hold its annual “Soirée Under the Stars” in November to raise money for an expansion of cardiovascular services that is expected to bring open-heart surgery to the South Shore of Nassau County.

The Nov. 7 fundraiser will benefit the hospital’s “Bringing Heart Home” campaign, which supports the planned launch of advanced cardiac surgical services, including adult open-heart surgery. Funds will also go toward expanding the hospital’s interventional cardiology program with an additional cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology lab and a new CT-angiography lab

The advanced cardiac and open-heart surgery program is expected to launch later this year and will be overseen by surgeons and clinical leaders from Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital in Manhattan. Surgeons from Manhattan will perform the procedures at the Oceanside hospital, according to Mount Sinai South Nassau.

The Soirée is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at The Lannin in Eisenhower Park. The evening will feature an extended cocktail hour, music, dancing and a mentalist, with News 12 personalities Erin Colton and Joe Arena serving as masters of ceremonies.

Longtime hospital advisory board member and benefactor Steven Gold, of Hewlett Harbor, will be the event’s honoree.
Gold has served on the hospital’s advisory board since 2011 and previously co-chaired the Soirée. He is the former president of Gold Pure Food Products, known for Gold’s Horseradish, a company founded by his grandparents in 1932. Gold led the company until its sale in 2015.

“Steven Gold is one of our longest serving volunteer board members, and he has been a supporter of the hospital for decades,” Interim President Dr. Joshua Kugler said. “Anytime we need something, he is there. He embodies the South Nassau spirit.”

The hospital will also recognize Dr. Aaron E. Glatt, chair of the Department of Medicine and chief of infectious diseases, and Nydia White, director of nursing for the Department of Medicine.

Glatt will receive the hospital’s Mary Pearson Award, while White will receive the Cupola Award. The family of longtime board member and former gala co-chair Wayne Lipton will also receive a special posthumous award in his honor.

Glatt has led Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Department of Medicine since 2015 and served as one of the hospital’s leading medical experts during the COVID-19 pandemic. He helped oversee initiatives including the use of monoclonal antibodies, vaccine distribution and the hospital’s Vaxmobile.

White has spent her entire 22-year nursing career at Mount Sinai South Nassau, much of it in critical care. Hospital officials said her leadership will also play a role in caring for patients as the new cardiac surgery program begins.

The hospital currently provides emergency and elective angioplasty. Its cardiac catheterization lab has received a gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Tickets and sponsorship information for the Soirée are available through Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Development Office at 516-377-5360.