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Bring on the color
Kim Wheeler reflects on service
Presenting the Mayor’s Trophy
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AUGUST 20 - 26, 2026
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He walked home from Buffalo By ALYSSA R. GRIFFIN agriffin@liherald.com
Alyssa R. Griffin/Herald
The Village of Malverne welcomed Don Pupke, center, home as he returned from a 36-day-long journey in which he raised money for American Legion Post 44. Pupke is originally from Valley Stream.
After 36 days, more than 750 miles and countless hours of navigating traffic and drastically changing weather, Don Pupke, originally from Valley Stream but now a resident of Malverne, has returned home. Pupke, 66, completed his cross-state walk from Buffalo, in western New York, to Montauk Point earlier this month, accomplishing a goal he had pondered for years. But his return to Malverne was about more than reaching the finish line. The final stretch brought him back to the village he has called home for 35 years and the community he set out to support. Pupke’s walk raised money for ConTinueD on PAge 2
LIJ emergency department earns its first Lantern Award By ANGELINA ZINGARIELLO azingariello@liherald.com
Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital’s emergency department has ear ned the Emergency Nurses Association’s Lantern Award for the first time, recognizing the d e p a r t m e n t ’ s i m p r e s s iv e achievements in leadership, clinical practice, education, advocacy and research. T h e 2 0 2 6 aw a rd w a s announced on July 27 by the Emergency Nurses Association, or ENA, which selected a record number 126 emergency departments for the honor. LIJ Valley Stream was one of six
New York hospitals that made this year’s list. Established in 2011, the national award specifically singles out emergency departments that demonstrate exceptional and innovative performance while incorporating evidence-based practice into emergency care. The award also serves as a visible indication of a department’s commitment to quality, safety and a healthy work environment. For LIJ Valley Stream, earning the distinction was the result of implementing years of changes in how the emergency department provides care.
“There’s just no way that an emergency department can achieve the Lanter n Award overnight,” Arlene Ramirez, the hospital’s senior director of patient care services, said. “It’s a journey over time in which we go about improving the care that we provide via performance improvement projects, and advocacy for our patients, implementing evidence-based care, leadership and our practice toward the patients.” Among the changes was the implementation of a split-flow model, in which a physician sees patients near the beginning of the process after an initial nursing assessment.
According to Ramire z, the model has improved care and patient experience. The department also streamlined its approach to treating sepsis and undertook other performance-improvement projects, using data and outcomes to evaluate whether changes were working. According to the ENA, Lan-
tern Award applicants are evaluated through a comprehensive process that includes quantitative performance and outcome measures as well as qualitative descriptions of noteworthy practices. The current application covers leadership and practice, operations, education, advocacy and research. ConTinueD on PAge 5