When someone has a stroke or heart attack, every second counts. And in the Hamptons, there is only one place to go: the Southampton Hospital. Thanks to the efforts of President and Chief Executive Officer Robert S. Chaloner, the hospital has been fortifying its line of defense. The Jenny & John Paulson Emergency Department and the Ellen Hermann Breast Center are among the strides taken under his watch. We caught up with Chaloner at the Southampton Hospital’s 57th Annual Summer Party, titled “Fantasia,” a stunning black and white conceit — down to the tiled black and white dance floor under air conditioned tents — that was part of Tony Urrutia’s design. Always a season highlight, this year 750 attended, raising more than $1.3 million for the Jenny & John Paulson Emergency Department.
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Jean Remmel FitzSimmons and Doran Mullen. (Photo: Sean Zanni/PatrickMcMullan.com) |
Chaloner said his biggest accomplishment this year was the new Audrey and Martin Gruss Heart and Stroke Center, that opened in the spring. “It’s a very high tech state of the art center for doing endovascular, minimally invasive operations on the vascular system,” he told Hamptons.com. “It’s really just an amazing room and piece of machinery that is an asset for our community. Time is of the essence for people that are suffering from strokes. And we now have the resources, so no one has to travel long distances.”
Jean Remmel FitzSimmons served as the benefit chair. “This is probably her 10th time chairing the party,” said Chaloner, “But, she’s been providing spiritual leadership for close to 30 years.” Howard Lorber was Honorary Chair, with Jean Shafiroff as Underwriting Chair.
As always, Chuck Scarborough showed his stalwart support of the community by serving as emcee. Hospital supporters in the room included Martin and Audrey Gruss, Jonathan and Somers Farkas, Peter and Jamee Gregory, Margo and John Catsimatidis, Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Laura Lofaro Freeman, Dottie Herman, Jay McLaughlin and David Arquette. Alex Donner Orchestra played. The night’s live auction included fine jewelry from LJ Cross and House of Murat. Looking to the future, Chaloner talked about the partnership with Stony Brook and the upcoming Capital Campaign led by Howard Lorber, to build a new Southampton Hospital.
For more information, visit www.southamptonhospital.org.
