Northwell donates supplies to Turkey and Syria

Standing with medical providers of Turkish and Syrian descent, Michael J. Dowling, Northwell Health’s president and CEO, announced that the heath system is sending 22 palettes of needed medical and disaster relief supplies to the devastated regions after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 claimed more than 48,000 lives and left millions displaced.

With Reyhan Ozgur, consul general of the Republic of Turkey, on hand at Northwell’s Integrated Distribution Center in Bethpage, this announcement comes a day shy of the one-year anniversary of Northwell sending humanitarian relief supplies in support of health providers in Ukraine at the start of a war waged by Russian forces.

“We’re all part of one global family,” Dowling said. “And when there’s one part of the family in severe distress, we as a health care organization have to be concerned about people in other parts of the world.”

As with Ukraine relief, Northwell is working with longstanding partner Medshare to transport supplies from New York into the afected regions. In addition, Northwell’s Center for Global Health is networking with local leaders on the ground to fund relief eforts where they’ll make the greatest impact.

“We are gathering specialized supplies that are difcult to procure locally, things like dialysis kits, trauma supplies that are now already strained in Europe because of the war in Ukraine,” said Dr. Eric Cioe Peña, director of the CGH, who is helping spearhead these eforts.

Disaster relief eforts in Turkey and Syria have been continually plagued by high-magnitude aftershocks in already devastated areas, with the most recent 5.6 magnitude Monday, compounding the crisis.

Northwell has once again aligned with international relief partners, such as Médecins Sans Frontières – more commonly known in the U.S. as Doctors Without Borders– to provide direct medical care to survivors and people in need of basic care. The Northwell Health Turkey-Syria relief fund was also created to bring direct equitable fnancial support to the disaster areas.

This was welcomed news to Abit Soylu, a paramedic with Northwell’s Center for Emergency Medical Services, whose family lives in Turkey. Soylu lost his cousin and her son when their home collapsed in the initial quake.

“It’s hard for me because I’m not there, and I’m heartbroken here not being able to help them,” he said. “It took fve days for them to fnd them in the rubble.”

Soylu was joined by Amen Alhadi, a fight paramedic with Helicopter Emergency Medical Services who has family in Syria and Dr. Anas Sawas, an emergency medicine physician at Mather Hospital in Port Jeferson, who spoke about the limited humanitarian access into Syria from the civil war, now strained by the earthquake.

Also at the event were Dr. Onat Akina Northwell pathologist with family in Turkey, and Dr. Banu Ayguna pediatric oncologist at Cohen Children’s Medi- cal Center. The two discussed the medical risks children face in that region due to the lack of access to care and clean water. Scabies and cholera can spread quickly and other illness from lack of vaccinations.

“Aside from losing their homes, their schools, their friends, some of them are unfortunately orphans,” Dr. Aygun said. “The physical scars are very big, but the psychological scars are much deeper.”

“We’re a culturally dynamic health system,” Dr. Cioe Peña said. “Like in Ukraine, working with MSF and our teammates that hail from these regions will help us build sustainable relationships to get materials and funds to the right place and care for more people.”

In the weeks that followed the invasion of Ukraine, Northwell Health deployed its integrated telehealth service to provide 24/7 assistance to health care providers to consult and ofer guidance on civilian and military patient care. The program has provided more than 350 consults to clinicians caring for patients of blast injury and gunfre, to women with perinatal care needs and patients awaiting organ transplant.

Northwell looks to deploy this same strategy in Turkey and Syria and ofer 24/7 access to complement medical care there.

“When we launched this program, we quickly realized that using this as a peer-to-peer platform ofered the most beneft and impact to the medical community in Ukraine,” Cioe Peña said.

“We have an obligation and responsibility. It’s part of the culture of Northwell: Any time anyone is in trouble – whether it’s domestic or overseas –we do our best to help,” Dowling said. “If we have the ability and the resources to help – and we obviously have the will – then we should help. That’s why we’re in the health care business. We can’t always be looking internal; we have to look external. It’s something we’ve always done, it’s something we always do.”

To donate and support the Northwell Health CGH Turkey/Relief fund visit: https://support.northwell.edu/center-for-global-health

Legal Notice Of Public Hearing

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held by the Board of Commissioners of the Great Neck Park District at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 5 Beach Road, Great Neck, New York, to consider adoption of a resolution to submit a bond petition to the Town of North Hempstead seeking bond and bond anticipation note fnancing under the New York State Local Finance Law, in the principal amount of $2,750,000, to fnance a portion of the $3,250,000 purchase price for certain parcels of real property in the Village of Kings Point adjacent or in close proximity to the Park District’s existing Steppingstone Park. At the hearing, all parties expressing an interest will be given an opportunity to be heard.

Any person desiring to participate who requires accommodation to attend should notify Dorina Bradley at the Great Neck Park District (516) 482-0181 in suffcient time to accomplish such reasonable accommodations enabling such participation.

Dated: Great Neck, New York March 1, 2023

By Order of the Board of Commissioners of the Great Neck Park District

Frank Cilluffo Tina Stellato Vanessa Tamari

GREAT NECK PARK DISTRICT NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Board of Commissioners of the Great Neck Park District will receive sealed bids at the District offce, Five Beach Road, Great Neck, New York 11023, until 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 20, 2023 for the purchase of outdoor park benches.

PURCHASE OF OUTDOOR PARK BENCHES

At the above time and location, the bid will be publicly opened and read. The form of the proposal and specifcations will be available at the Park District Offce where copies thereof may be obtained by qualifed bidders during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Board of Commissioners reserves the right, to reject any and all bids and to accept the bid which it deems to be in the best interest of the Park District.

For more information, call the Great Neck Park District at (516) 487-4673.

Dated: Great Neck, New York March 2, 2023

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

GREAT NECK PARK DISTRICT

Frank S. Cilluffo

Tina M. Stellato

Vanessa Tamari

GREAT NECK PARK DISTRICT NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

CAMP PARKWOOD BUSSING SERVICES

Please take notice that the Board of Commissioners of the Great Neck Park District will receive sealed bids at the District offce, Five Beach Road, Great Neck, New York, 11023, until 1:00 p.m. Monday, March 20, 2023 for the Great Neck Park District Parkwood Bussing Services as set forth in the detailed specifcations.

At the above time and location, the bid will be publicly opened and read. The form of the proposal and specifcations will be available at the Park District Offce where copies thereof may be obtained by qualifed bidders during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Board of Commissioners reserves the right, to reject any and all bids and accept the bid which it deems to be in the best interest of the Park District. For more information, call the Great Neck Park District at (516) 487-7665.

Dated: Great Neck, New York

March 2, 2023

Board of Commissioners

Great Neck Park District

Frank S. Cilluffo

Tina M. Stellato

Vanessa Tamari