Local Teenagers Earn Dorothy M. Sharer Scholarship for Exemplary Volunteer Service at Mount Sinai South Nassau

In recognition of their service as junior volunteers at Mount Sinai South Nassau, three Oceanside High School class of 2022 high school graduates, Mehakdeep Kaur, Dean Tveter, and Lauren Waxman, have been awarded the hospital’s annual Dorothy M. Sharer Scholarship.

The OHS graduates have combined to volunteer 519 hours of dedicated service to the mission and vision of Mount Sinai South Nassau. The late Dorothy M. Sharer was a devoted and beloved volunteer at Mount Sinai South Nassau for more than 33 years and over 30,000 hours of volunteer service. Recipients of the scholarship emulate Ms. Sharer’s trait of serving others through volunteerism, while demonstrating a desire to pursue degrees in higher education that would prepare them for careers in health care.

“Mehakdeep, Dean and Lauren have embodied the spirit of the scholarship and Dorothy’s passion for selfless service to the hospital,” said Anne Fernandez, Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Director of Development and Volunteer Services. “On behalf of Mount Sinai South Nassau, I thank them for their dedicated work in support of the hospital and its patients and wish them success in their academic pursuits in college.”

A volunteer since November 2019, Ms. Kaur has logged 121 hours of volunteer service thus far, assisting in Admitting, Maternity, Pediatrics, and as a messenger. She will be attending Hofstra University.

Enrolled to attend Molloy University, Mr. Tveter has been a volunteer at Mount Sinai South Nassau since November 2018. As of today, he has logged 289 hours of volunteering, serving as a messenger; working on the Pediatric Unit answering phones and call bells; escorting visitors and patients; conducting non-clinical rounding on patients; training new junior volunteers, and coordinating the hospital’s pet therapy dog visits to patient units.

Ms. Waxman has been a Mount Sinai South Nassau volunteer since July 2021, dedicating 109 hours of her time and talents to the mission of the hospital. She has served on a variety of patient care units, answering phones and call bells and has assisted in Maternity and greeted patients in Radiology. She will be attending Western Connecticut State University.



Three deserving Oceanside High School Class of 2022 graduates were awarded the Mount Sinai South Nassau annual Dorothy M. Sharer (Junior Volunteer) Scholarship during a ceremony held at the hospital on Thursday, June 16. (L to R) left to right – Anne Marie Fernandez, Director of Volunteer Services, Lauren Waxman, Dean Tveter, Mehakdeep Kaur, and Sharon McMackin, Volunteer Services Coordinator.

Mount Sinai South Nassau has fully resumed volunteer activities after curtailing it the past two years due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and now features a staff of 132 active volunteers. Volunteering at Mount Sinai South Nassau can be both satisfying and enriching. No experience is necessary: anyone with a little spare time, an easy smile and a kind heart qualifies. Junior high and high school-aged young adults can volunteer after school, on weekends or during spring and summer breaks. It's not only an excellent opportunity to help others, but also a terrific way to get a firsthand look at the healthcare field for those young students who may be considering this as a career. For more information about the junior volunteer program or volunteering at Mount Sinai South Nassau, please call Volunteer Office at 516-632-3928.

About Mount Sinai South Nassau
The Long Island flagship hospital of the Mount Sinai Health System, Mount Sinai South Nassau is designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for outstanding nursing care. Mount Sinai South Nassau is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 455 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,500 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 and operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County, along with Long Island’s only free-standing Emergency Department in Long Beach.

In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, Mount Sinai South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and offers Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies. Mount Sinai South Nassau operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County verified by the American College of Surgeons as well as Long Island’s only free-standing, 9-1-1 receiving Emergency Department in Long Beach. Mount Sinai South Nassau also is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons; is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program; and an Infectious Diseases Society of America Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence.
For more information, go to www.mountsinai.org/southnassau.