_________ Oceanside/island park ________
HERALD Village trustees are re-elected
o’Side students learn life lessons
I.P. students get their shine
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VoL. 59 No. 14
MARCH 28 - APRIL 3, 2024
$1.00
Cibellis is hardly your average Joe By KEPHERD DANIEL kdaniel@liherald.com
Jason Thomas/Herald
An egg-citing weekend in o’Side Oceanside kids scrambled for the colored prizes at the annual egg hunt. The event, co-sponsored by the Oceanside Department of Community Activities and the Kiwanis Club, drew over 400 people. Story, more photos, Page 3.
The Kiwanettes of Oceanside are set to honor local heroes who have impacted the community. The organization will host an awards dinner at Lambrou’s Catering Hall, in Island Park, on April 11, and will present its Public Service Award to Towers Funeral Home, and its Leadership Award to Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Vice President Joe Cibellis. Cibellis will be the first recipient of the Kiwanettes’ inagural Leadership Award. It will recognize his dedication to community service, exemplified by his longtime involvement in a variety of organizations and his family’s business legacy in the area. “He’s a man of his word, and he’s a born leader, and he’s an asset to the community,” Kiwanettes member Maria Heller said. “I met Joe at a chamber meeting about six Continued on page 5
Mount Sinai South Nassau says goodbye to Eileen Mahler By KEPHERD DANIEL kdaniel@liherald.com
Mount Sinai South Nassau recently bid a fond farewell to longtime Oceanside resident Eileen Mahler, who recently retired after a 45-year career dedicated to nursing. The retirement celebration for Mahler, organized by her hospital colleagues and administrators, was a surprise “clapout” procession held at the hospital’s main entrance on March 22 at 2 p.m. The after noon included a heartfelt tribute to Mahler’s decades of service, culminating in a chauffeured ride home in a BMW convert-
ible, escorted by an Oceanside Fire Department fire engine. “Thank you, Eileen, for your dedication and everything you’ve done to support the patient care services department,” Margaret Pfeiffer, the hospital’s vice president of patient care services, said. “You have been an instrumental part of our growth for over four decades. Thank you for your lifetime of dedication to Mount Sinai South Nassau, and your numerous contributions to the nursing profession. You will continue to inspire countless pieces for years to come.” Mahler began her nursing career in 1979 at what was then
known as South Nassau Communities Hospital, starting as a bedside nurse in the maternity unit. She commuted to work from Queens until she moved to Oceanside when she married her husband Bill in 1990. She rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the director of nursing education: professional development, practice and research in 2012. Throughout her tenure, she was rewarded for her dedication to patient care and nursing excellence. She was the recipient of the Town of Hempstead’s Health Services Pathfinder Award in 2018, and was certified by the American Nurses
Credentialing Center in nursing professional development and as a nurse executive. While working as a nurse, Mahler earned her Ph.D. “I was a clinical nurse at the beginning of my career and then moved into leadership, and in either of those, your focus is the patient, but as you move into leadership, and then
moved into education, the focus was on our nurses,” she said. ”How can we help them learn and adjust to the stress of the profession and care for themselves as well?” Reflecting on what inspired her to pursue nursing, Mahler recalled the early influence of her grandmother, who instilled Continued on page 9