(May 8, 2007 -- Rockville Centre, NY) - The Friends of Mercy Medical Center raised more than $100,000 at the 41st annual Gentlemen’s St. Patrick’s Dinner on Thursday, March 15th at the Hempstead Golf and Country Club. Some 230 people attended the black-tie affair which honored Gerry Oakes of Garden City, Director of the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of Swim Across America which has raised more than $1 million to support Mercy’s “M.I.R.A.C.L.E.” Pavilion, home to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Nassau County.

The event also included the presentation of the proceeds of The Friends’ 2006 fund-raising activities, with Alan Dr. Guerci, M.D., Mercy’s president and CEO, receiving a check for $375,000.

Co-Chairmen of this year’s event were Kevin Laurie and Francis Darcy of Rockville Centre and Jeffrey Mulhall of Garden City, who energetically support both The Friends and numerous other community activities.

The Friends of Mercy was founded in 1935 as an organization of men dedicated to volunteering their time and efforts to raise funds for the construction of the new Hospital and advancement of medical and surgical care for the patients of Mercy Medical Center. The group sponsors several fund-raising events each year, including a Golf Outing in September and The Mercy Ball in December. In the past two years, the Friends have raised over $700,000 which supported a new radiology suite in hospital’s Express Emergency Care Center, and for the new North Pavilion which opened last year.

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For immediate release, contact: Mel Granick
Phone: 516-705-2618
E-Mail: mel.granick@chsli.org