Paul Black, Allscripts CEO, & RATP’s Helena Williams Among Honorees at South Nassau’s 2016 Carnation Ball

Trauma nurse Margaret Puya, RN, Wins Cupola Ward; Community Honoree Award Goes To Retired Vascular Surgeon Luke LiCalzi, MD. Paul M. Black, chief executive officer of Allscripts, a global leader in healthcare information technology solutions, has been named the Corporate Honoree of South Nassau Communities Hospital’s 2016 Annual Carnation Ball while former LIRR President Helena E. Williams was named the Mary Pearson Award recipient.

Two South Nassau health care leaders, Dr. Luke K. LiCalzi of Rockville Centre, and Trauma Nurse Margaret Puya, won the Cupola and Community awards respectively.
This year’s gala will be held on Saturday, November 5 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.

The money raised by this year’s Ball will also support the Emergency Department Expansion Campaign.

“Paul is a visionary and leader of the healthcare industry’s development of and transition to electronic healthcare information technology,” said Richard J. 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.



(l to r) Paul M. Black, Chief Executive Officer, Allscripts; Luke K. LiCalzi, MD, Past Director, Division of Vascular Surgery, South Nassau Communities Hospital; Helena E. Williams, Chief Development Officer, RATP Dev America; Margaret Puya, RN, Trauma Program Manager, South Nassau Communities Hospital.

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, Mr. 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, Mr. 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.

He has served on several boards of directors of private and nonprofit companies in healthcare information technology, healthcare services and consumer Internet marketing. He is currently immediate past chairman and an officer of Truman Medical Centers, a 400-bed safety net academic hospital in Kansas City, Mo.
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).  She also served as a Deputy County Executive for former Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi.

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. 
 
The Emergency Department Expansion Campaign is a five-year, $10 million fundraising initiative to help pay for a $60 million renovation and expansion of the Oceanside Emergency Department. The expansion project will increase the Emergency Department’s square footage from 16,000 to 30,000 square feet, increasing its overall size by 87% and giving it the necessary room to accommodate in excess of 80,000 patient visits each year as well as establishing dedicated areas for behavioral health, geriatric and pediatric emergencies. The Emergency Department currently sees some 65,000 patients a year but was designed to handle 35,000 annually.

To learn more about the Carnation Ball, to purchase tickets or support as a sponsor, call South Nassau’s Development office or Lynne Nordone at (516) 377-5360.

Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), South Nassau® Communities Hospital 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.  In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and offers Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies.  A Level II Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons, South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons, and is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program.  In addition, the hospital has been awarded the Joint Commission’s gold seal of approval as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care; and disease-specific care for hip and joint replacement, wound care and end-stage renal disease. For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.