For Immediate Release May 22, 2015Contact: Damian Becker, Manager of Media Relations

(516) 377-5370

Fight Breast Cancer, Walk on LI2Day and Help South Nassau

Oceanside, NY – South Nassau Communities Hospital has been named a beneficiary of the 2015

LI2DAY Walk to Fight Breast Cancer. This is the eighth consecutive year that South Nassau has been named a

beneficiary of LI2DAY, which is celebrating its 12th Anniversary this year.

All of the funds raised by LI2DAY walk are donated directly back to Long Island community-based

organizations. LI2DAY has donated a total of $203,400 during the last eight years to South Nassau in support

of its breast cancer screening, early detection/diagnosis, and follow-up treatment program for underserved and

minority patients. Since its inception, LI2DAY has raised nearly $6 million in support of local cancer

organizations, research facilities and educational scholarships. In 2014, LI2Day expanded its mission to raise

awareness and funds for other cancers in addition to Breast Cancer.

To be held Saturday, June 13, LI2DAY features a half-marathon distance walk. Participant check in,

breakfast and the Opening Ceremony will be held as in the past in the DARE area at Smiths Point. At 7:45AM,

participants will begin their journey on a route that overlooks Smith Point Beach and then through the local

neighborhood for 13.1 miles. Participants will then have a wonderful lunch and be treated to the luxuries of

massage therapists, podiatrists, Yoga, Serenity Tent and live entertainment.

“Early detection and education is the key to saving lives,” said South Nassau’s Rajiv Datta, Chairman

of the Department of Surgery. “We’ve made great strides in treating breast cancer but more needs to be done.

By joining the LI2 Day walk, you will be helping South Nassau in our efforts to combat this disease.”

After the break, participants will exit the Smiths Point Marina with the pipe and drum ensemble, then

cross over the bridge in the final procession to the DARE area for the Closing Ceremony and celebration of

survivors. Participant safety is of the utmost priority, so arrangements have been made for continuous support

from the Suffolk County Police Department, a qualified medical team, and local ambulance personnel.

Individuals or groups interested in walking, fundraising or donating in support of Team South Nassau and

LI2DAY should call Nelvie Howard in South Nassau’s development department, at (516) 377-5360.

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Volunteers and sponsors as well as interested walkers can register or learn more about information

sessions, training sessions and registration online by going to www.li2daywalk.org or by calling (631)-863-

2329.

South Nassau is the only hospital on Long Island to win three major awards for quality in recent

months, including for nursing excellence, and top rankings from U.S. News & World Report and from the Joint

Commission. In addition, it is one of just 559 hospitals in the country to be awarded the American Heart

Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite

Quality Achievement Award, and it is also a recipient of the American Heart Association/American College of

Cardiology Foundation Get With The Guidelines®–Heart Failure Silver-Plus Quality Achievement Award.

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

3,000 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 is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife®

radiosurgery technologies.  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.

Long Island 2 Day Breast Cancer Walk

Since its inception, LI2DAY has raised nearly $6 million from the annual walk. LI2Day was organized

to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer and other cancer research, to benefit cancer sufferers, survivors,

and their families, and to support organizations that are participating in such efforts. LI2DAY helps fund

programs that assist with medical expenses, transportation, prosthetics and wigs, physical therapy, child care

and more.  LI2DAY will continue to raise awareness and much needed funds for the women and men in our

community who are fighting breast and other women’s cancers right now - emotionally, physically and

financially. For more information, visit www.li2daywalk.org or call 631- 863- 2DAY (2329).

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