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DECEMBER 28, 2023 - JANUARY 3, 2024
Vol. 00 No. 1
HERALD PERSON oF THE YEAR Tim ScHlameuSS
He’s spent 40 years saying thank you What’s INSIDE
Paul Lynch announced as new superintendent. Page 6
Teen honors patrolman who died in the line of duty. Page 15
Lynbrook students send science project to space. Page 23
Tim Schlameuss is using his second chance at life to help others By Nicole Formisano
Tim Schlameuss doesn’t remember the accident in 1979 — the truck that came barreling through a red light on Peninsula Boulevard, slamming into his car and nearly killing him; the police who used the Jaws of Life to extract him from his vehicle; the helicopter that airlifted him to the Nassau County Medical Center, even though the EMTs were sure he wouldn’t make it. What Schlameuss does remember is the warmth and kindness of the staff at what was then South Nassau Community Hospital as he underwent months of grueling rehabilitation. That kindness made such impression that in the years since, Schlameuss, of Lynbrook, has devoted more than ay, ‘Hello, 14,000 hours of his time to volunteerhow are ing at the hospital. In honor of his service, he is the Herald’s 2023 Person you doing’ — It’s of the Year. not a big thing. “It was the people,” Schlameuss, 67, said of the staff of what is now Mount It’s just what Sinai South Nassau. “They treat you you should do. as more than just as a job. They were concerned about you.” The accident changed his life forever. Tim SchlameuSS Mount Sinai South He had to give up a career working Nassau volunteer in accounting. He has no stamina, he
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says. His once excellent memory now often falters. He has difficulty using the left side of his body; moving requires his full attention, or he’ll lose his balance. But Schlameuss describes these struggles with a lighthearted matter-of-factness that makes them sound like mere inconveniences. Rather than focus on what the accident took away from him, he focuses on what it gave him. “It changed my life, but it made it good,” he said. “I love the way my life is right now. And I don’t know how my life would have been the other way.” Schlameuss began volunteering in the hospital’s mailroom in 1983, and over the decades he has earned a reputation for being exceptionally friendly and kind. “Friendly, helpful, patient, calm, caring and thoughtful,” Anne Fernandez, the hospital’s director of volunteers, said of Schlameuss. “He moves quietly, and brings a sense of calm when he enters an area or patient room.” Those who work with him say he greets everyone he comes
For BrEAKING NEWS go to liherald.com
across, and never comes into the hospital without a smile on his face. He said he never realized he was smiling at people so often — it just comes naturally to him. “This morning I was in BJ’s,” Schlameuss said recently with a laugh. “And there was this man with a kid who looked like he might have been 5 years old, snuggled in the cart with groceries. I smiled at him, and the guy smiled back at me.” “That’s another thing I like about being nice to people,” he said. “People are nice back to you.” Those kinds of interaction are what Schlameuss enjoys about the MSSN mailroom. He misses a time when people were always coming in to make copies, and he would exchange smiles and chat with them. “Say, ‘Hello, how are you doing?’ — It’s not a big thing,” he said. “It’s just what you should do.” Fewer people need copies these days, and there’s less interacContinued on page 2
Courtesy Anne Fernandez
Tim Schlameuss’ car was hit by a truck in December 1979. He was touched by the kindness of the staff at Mount Sinai South Nassau, and has volunteered there for more than 40 years. He is the Herald’s Person of the Year.