Auxiliary of Lenox Hill Hospital Raises $80,000 at Annual Benefit

Funds from the annual benefit support continuing education for nurses and staff, medical research and community outreach

By: Margarita Oksenkrug

The Auxiliary of Lenox Hill Hospital raised $80,000 at its annual benefit – an evening of music and celebration – which was held virtually on March 25, 2021. This year’s theme “Better Together,” commemorated the decade-long collaboration and partnership among Northwell Health’s three Manhattan campuses – Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH), Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital (MEETH), and Lenox Health Greenwich Village (LHGV).

Guests enjoyed a compelling program filled with powerful video testimonials, virtual tributes, thoughtful conversations with hospital leadership, and a moving musical performance by Grammy Award winning opera superstar, Angel Blue, with an exclusive piece recorded just for the Auxiliary. Frontline workers spoke about how the Auxiliary’s support has been instrumental in allowing the hospitals to continue serving patients, families and communities at large, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event was moderated by Tara Narula, MD, associate director of the Women’s Heart Program at LHH and CBS News senior medical correspondent. Featured speakers included Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, who spearheaded the Manhattan partnership in 2010, and Jill Kalman, MD, LHH’s outgoing executive director, who led the hospital through the pandemic.

Dr. Narula also interviewed the three current executive directors of the Manhattan sites – Mark Schiffer, MD (LHH), Joseph Manopella (MEETH) and Alex Hellinger, DPT (LHGV) – about their experiences over the past year, their hopes for the future and the importance of the support provided by the Auxiliary.

During the program, Auxiliary chair, Jill Ehrenberg, highlighted the extraordinary efforts of the doctors, nurses and staff of the three facilities during the unprecedented difficulties of the past year.

“We know the past year has been incredibly challenging. What you have been called upon to do goes far beyond anything your training could have prepared you for but your efforts came as no surprise to us,” said Ms. Ehrenberg. “You have always been our heroes. So, thank you for everything that you have done and continue to do to provide outstanding care for us, our families, our friends and neighbors across the city and beyond.”

The funds raised by the Auxiliary throughout the year support initiatives across Manhattan that make possible advances in research and innovations in patient care. They also foster close ties with neighbors across New York City. Some of the programs that have benefited from the Auxiliary’s assistance in 2020 include:

• Internal medicine residency clinic, which received funds helping it provide much needed medical care to underprivileged women at a local women’s shelter
• Lenox Hill House Calls program, which received a donation of laptops that helped improve productivity and efficiency for telemedicine and in-home visits with chronically ill and homebound patients
• Nursing education, which received a donation of high-tech simulation mannequins to enhance nurse training
• LHGV’s emergency department, which received funds to build a staff tranquility room, a place of serenity and relaxation during stressful times, as well as funds to enhance the pediatric ER exam room;
• LHH’s inpatient behavioral health unit, which received donations of exercise equipment and ceiling speakers to play ambient music, as therapeutic modalities for psychiatric patients

Proceeds from this year’s benefit will provide sponsorship for such endeavors as continuing education courses for nurses and staff, recognition awards for exceptional hospital personnel, a summer internship program for high school students, bicycle safety equipment for children in the community, medical research projects, art initiatives to enhance the patient experience, and various community events across the three Manhattan campuses.

From its establishment in 1949, the all-volunteer Auxiliary of Lenox Hill Hospital has been supporting Northwell’s Manhattan sites, its patients and staff, and the local community for more than 70 years.