News From:For Immediate Release April 21, 2015Contact: Damian Becker, Manager of Media Relations

(516) 377-5370

SIBSPlace Kids to Benefit from Annual Auction

Oceanside, NY – At SIBSPlace (Survivorship in Brothers and Sisters) in Hewlett, NY, Annika learns that

she is not alone – the other children who attend have stories just like hers. They also have seriously ill parents or

siblings who are suffering with cancer or another type of devastating illness.

Like Annika, they secretly worry: “will my mom die?” When they tell their stories, Annika identifies with

them and it encourages her to share what she is feeling. Her mom is in need of a lung transplant, exploring

waiting list options. SIBSPlace helps Annika prepare for her lengthy separation from her mom.

The SIBSPlace parent group discusses the same separation plans with mom: Grandpa will stay with

Annika, while grandma accompanies her daughter out of state for the approved transplant. Annika and her mom

will use FaceTime, Facebook, letters and phone calls to communicate regularly. It is six months later; mom is

home, breathing unassisted and feeling better than she has in years. She looks the picture of health and hope.

Mom and Annika, now seven years old, are happily reunited and looking forward to a future together that will

not have the physical or medical restrictions that for so long have limited their lives and relationship.

A donor-funded, free therapeutic support program for well children living with a brother or sister with

cancer or other devastating illness, or a parent with cancer, SIBSPlace is the only program of its kind in the

United States. It has served 377 families and 599 children since it was founded in 2000.

The opportunity to support the SIBSPlace mission of compassion presents itself Saturday, May 2, when

the 2015 SIBSPlace Annual Auction is held at The Seawane Club in Hewlett Harbor (NY) from 6:30-10:00 p.m.

An essential free community service of South Nassau Communities Hospital, SIBSPlace is celebrating its 15th

year of free service to families throughout Nassau County.

The esteemed honoree of this year’s auction is Long Beach philanthropist and residential real estate

developer Mr. Joseph Iorio. The event, spearheaded by a committee of concerned community members, is co-

chaired by Karen, Samantha and Michael Lentin. Guests will bid on over 200 featured live and silent auction

items including exclusive memorabilia, entertainment packages, and precious jewelry, including a New York

Mets corporate luxury suite and first-pitch extravaganza. Courtesy of the Gold Pure Food Products Family, this

is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a baseball fan to throw out the ceremonial first pitch when the Mets face

the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:10PM and then enjoy the game with 40 guests from a private

luxury suite. In addition to scrumptious foods and fine beverages, CitiField luxury suites provide the finest

accommodations and furnishings, including HDTVs, comfortable sofas and lounge chairs. To view all the items

up for auction, checkout the SIBSPlace Auction catalog at

http://www.southnassau.org/sibsPlaceAuction/index.cfm.

“On behalf of the children and families who need SIBSPlace as well as the entire South Nassau family, I

thank the businesses that helped us obtain the luxury goods, rare memorabilia and entertainment packages; each

person who will bid generously throughout the evening, and the auction’s volunteer committee for its steadfast

efforts to make the auction a memorable event for all,” said Suzanne Kornblatt, LMSW, director,

SIBSPlace/Child & Family Life. “Their selflessness and generosity empower SIBSPlace to fulfill its mission and

vision and to expand to meet the needs of the families and children it serves.”

For more information or to purchase tickets to the event, call South Nassau’s development office at 516-

377-5360.

SIBSPlace encourages expression, self-awareness and the development of coping skills for children ages

5 to 17. The goal of the program is to help children understand and cope with feelings they are experiencing due

to a sibling or parent suffering with cancer or other type of devastating illness. SIBSPlace provides a

comprehensive program of support and guided recreation in which personal needs, unexpressed feelings and

confusing experiences can be addressed by the well siblings. A typical visit includes homework support, dinner,

therapeutic art and verbal activities, psycho-educational group interaction, mentoring and tutoring. It is also host

to weekly parent and bereavement support groups and a 6 week summer camp program that includes field trips

for fun, skill building and cultural learning. Other special activities include animal therapy and field trips to local

attractions.

South Nassau is the only hospital on Long Island to win four major awards for quality in recent months,

including for nursing excellence, patient safety and top rankings from U.S. News & World Report & from the

Joint Commission.

Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), South Nassau®

Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 455 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,000

employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that

provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and

emergency services. In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency

and elective angioplasty, and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife®

radiosurgery technologies. South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of

Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and is an accredited

center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program. In addition, the

hospital has been awarded the Joint Commission’s gold seal of approval as a Top Performer on Key Quality

Measures, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care; and disease-specific care for hip and

joint replacement, wound care and end-stage renal disease. For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.

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