More than $280,000 from Community Support Benefits Patients at Good Samaritan Hospital

Suffern, NY (March 7, 2017) – Rockland and Orange County residents value the advanced care they receive at Good Samaritan Hospital. They also realize the importance of supporting the hospital through making donations and participating in fundraising events. And their efforts are paying off!

As a result of contributions from patients, local residents and area businesses, the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation has distributed $284,400 to expand and enhance its essential health programs and services.

The Foundation is the hospital's philanthropic arm. Funds for this disbursement were generated through the Foundation's annual Spring Ball, Golf and Tennis Classic, Girls' Night Out and Corks & Forks, direct mail appeals and other fundraising initiatives.

Patients being treated in the Emergency Department, Women's Services, Cardiac Care and other areas throughout the hospital are directly benefiting from these investments in care.

In the Emergency Department, patients and their companions can now rest more comfortably in new sleep recline chairs. Imaging for women coming to Good Samaritan for breast health screenings is being performed and interpreted with a new high resolution monitor and other equipment, improving accuracy, efficiency and speed in identifying abnormalities in breast tissue.

The hospital's Cardiac Care specialists now use highly advanced equipment during revascularization procedures, which help restore patients' blood flow to the heart. Additionally, a TEE probe for transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has been purchased. This device uses sound waves to produce high-resolution moving images that show the size and shape of a patient's heart as well as how the heart chambers and valves are working. The purchase of additional equipment is also improving efficiencies and enhancing comfort for patients throughout the hospital.

Mary Leahy, M.D., C.E.O. of Bon Secours Charity Health System, said, "Our healthcare teams are committed to ensuring that local residents continue to receive the highest quality advanced care, close to home. These enhancements will help meet our community's changing needs as we continue to move forward to fulfill that promise."

"My colleagues on the Board of Directors and I are deeply grateful for individuals' and corporations' generosity, and we're looking forward to ongoing fundraising success," said Harold Peterson, Chair of the Good Samaritan Foundation. "There are many ways community members may participate, from joining committees to coming to our events to making financial donations."

For more info, call the Good Samaritan Foundation at (845) 368-5151 or send an email to: Info_bschsfoundations@bshsi.org.

About Good Samaritan Hospital, a Member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York, is a 286-bed hospital providing emergency, medical, surgical, obstetrical/gynecological and acute care services to residents of Rockland and southern Orange Counties in New York; and northern Bergen County, New Jersey.  The hospital is home to a recognized cardiovascular program, comprehensive cancer treatment services, the area's leading Wound and Hyperbaric Institute and outstanding maternal/child services that includes a Children's Diagnostic Center. Good Samaritan Hospital also provides social, psychiatric and substance abuse services and its certified home care agency supports residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond.  For more information about Good Samaritan Hospital visit bschs.bonsecours.com or follow the hospital at Facebook.com/BSCGSRMC or Twitter.com/BSCHS

About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,500-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, NY, spanning seven hospitals and several campuses and locations in the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 10,000 people, with nearly 3,000 attending physicians. From Level 1 and Level 2 Trauma Centers, the region's only acute care children's hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals and numerous health-related centers, programs and services, today WMCHealth is the leading and pre-eminent provider of integrated health in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit www.wmchealth.org