_______________ east meadow ______________
HERALD Vol. 24 No. 7
E.M. chamber looks ahead
Several artists on display at library
Page 3
Page 10 $1.00 $1.00
FEBRUARY 8 - 14, 2024
NUMC to receive $2.5M to combat opioid epidemic By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Jordan Vallone/Herald
In Mineola on Feb. 5, Meg Ryan, acting chief executive officer of the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, said the hospital treated 20,000 patients last year in its addiction services unit. NUMC is receiving $2.5 million from the county to help it expand its mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities.
Joined by various health professionals and drug treatment organizations, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced the allocation of $6.8 million for opioid use prevention, education and treatment on Feb. 5 in Mineola. The money will be distributed to health care providers across the county, as well as the Nassau County Police Department. “Every years, tens of thousands of people die from fentanyl overdose, many of them young people,” Blakeman said. Drug overdose deaths surged at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, hitting a record high by the end of 2020. Many health experts say the increase was fueled by fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin. Catholic Health Services, which is headquartered at CoNtINUEd oN pagE 2
Kiwanis bridges the gap with younger generations By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Around East Meadow, the Kiwanis Club of East Meadow is well known for its acts of service to both the community and its children. Leaders of the club recently bridged the connection between its adult members and kids even further, by inviting the president and vice president of the Key Club at East Meadow High School to lead a meeting. Under Kiwanis International, there are several avenues for youth to become involved, at the elementary level with K-Kids, the middle school level with Builders Clubs, and at the high
school level with Key Clubs. In college, there’s Circle K, and for members of the community with special needs, there’s Aktion Clubs. In many of East Meadow’s schools, Kiwanis works closely with each of its youth groups. East Meadow High School’s Key Club is led by president, Mahira Ahmed, and vice president, Geneva Bhagroo. East Meadow Kiwanis President Joe Parisi joined the organization in 2018, and said at one point, it was common for Key Club members to lead meetings. The coronavirus pandemic and other reasons took the club away from this, and after speak-
I
really do look up to them because of their hard work.
MAhIRA AhMED President, East Meadow High School Key Club ing with Catherine Razzano, the Key Club liaison for East Meadow High School, they decided to bring it back. “It’s important to us — it’s important to Catherine and I — because our club is about kids,” Parisi said. “What we’re trying
to do is build a closer relationship between what I call the parents — the Kiwanis Club — and the K-Kids, the Builders Club and Key Clubs. So that’s really why we’re reinvigorating it.” “ I t ’s b r i d g i n g t h e g a p between the kids and the adults, so they can see the next step,” Razzano said, “and they can see what they’re working towards.”
Razzano and Parisi prepared Ahmed and Bhagroo ahead of the Jan. 23 meeting they led in the Grand Stage Diner in East Meadow, providing notes and instructions. The girls opened the meeting with the club’s opening song, “My Country Tis of Thee,” and then introduced dignitaries who attended, and CoNtINUEd oN pagE 9