_____________ ROCKVILLE CENTRE ____________
HERALD Your Health
Kayak time on Hempstead lake
Church embezzler is arrested
Inside
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Mental Health Vol. 33 No. 30
JUlY 21 - 27, 2022
$1.00
New Mercy president is introduced
Nola weNt to the gym four days a week most of his life — even beyond his 99th birthday.
By toM CaRRoZZa Special to the Rockville Centre Herald
Courtesy Francine Castagna
RVC resident turns 100
Beats Covid, heart condition to hit milestone By toM CaRRoZZa tcarrozza@liherald.com
When Rockville Centre resident Thomas Nola was bor n, Babe Ruth was the most popular athlete in America, Warren G. Harding was president and gas cost 25 cents a gallon. Nola gave himself every chance to make it to age 100 by sticking to healthy habits, but a cardiac event and a Covid-19 diagnosis late last year made the
road a bit rockier. Last Saturday, four days after Nola hit the century mark, dozens of his family members and friends gathered at his daughter Francine Castagna’s home to surprise him. That afternoon, Nola walked into his daughter’s backyard and froze when he saw the small crowd. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he exclaimed. Nola has long been com-
mitted to maintaining good health and staying in shape. He went to the gym four times a week, becoming one of the older mainstays at Sportset in his nearly three decades in the village. In November, at age 99, Nola was working out in the gym with a personal trainer when he fainted. After undergoing surgery to have a pacemaker implanted, Nola spent the next few months at three difContinued on page 4
There is a new president coming to Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, and he’s bringing with him more than 25 years experience in the health care industry. Joseph Manopella, who is making his way from Northwell Health, takes over at the North Village Avenue facility on July 25. “I’d always been fascinated with medicine, and had thought of going to medical school,” Manopella said. “However, that changed when I realized that I wanted a career that combined health care and business — and health care administration provided just that.“ Manopella joined Northwell Health in 1999 as an administrative resident, and by 2008, he was a deputy executive director. He ultimately worked his way up as head of the Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, just in time for that facility to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Coming to Mercy Hospital means Manopella is jumping over to Catholic Health, which through its sponsorship by the Diocese of Rockville Centre,
Courtesy Northwell Health
JosepH MaNopella taKes over as president of Mercy Hospital on July 25. employs 16,000 people at six acute care hospitals, three nursing homes, and several other facilities on Long Island. “It is deeply rooted in tradition,” Manopella said, “guided by its Catholic healing mission” as well as its values of integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence. “When the opportunity presented itself to lead a hospital into the future — one that aligns with my own core values — I wanted to be part of it.” Mercy’s roots go back to France in the early 19th century, Continued on page 14