$1 Million Gift Made to Southern Ocean Medical Center

The Hackensack Meridian Health Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation is pleased to announce a gift of $1 million from Michael Armellino, to be used toward the expansion of the Cardiac Catheterization/Interventional Radiology Lab at Southern Ocean Medical Center.

“Southern Ocean Medical Center has already benefitted greatly from the Armellino family’s generosity,” says Arthur DeMarsico, D.O., a vascular surgeon at Southern Ocean Medical Center. “This gift will help us greatly advance cardiac care and vascular services for our patients and will have a transformational impact on our community for years to come. We are so thankful for their generosity.”

Long-time donors to Southern Ocean Medical Center, the Armellino family has previously given $1 million to name the Telemetry unit in memory of daughter, Tracy Armellino. They have also donated to the medical center’s emergency and cancer centers.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be able to give back,” says Mr. Armellino. “Southern Ocean Medical Center is my local hospital and I want to support the medical center’s efforts to offer the most advanced cardiac care to help our community when they are in need. I could not be happier to contribute to this great project.”

The upgrades to the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory will enable more patients to receive care using the finest diagnostic equipment. With more than 1,000,000 cardiac catheterizations occurring annually in the U.S. to diagnose the presence of heart, artery, or valve disease, evaluate the functionality of heart muscle and determine if there is a need for further treatment such as interventional procedures like balloon angioplasty, stent placement, or bypass surgery, having cutting-edge equipment is essential to patient outcomes.

“We are extremely grateful to Michael for his support,” says Regina Foley, PhD, MBA, RN, chief hospital executive of Southern Ocean Medical Center. “We must constantly grow to provide the most advanced diagnostics and treatments for our community. With the help of generous donors like the Armellino family, our medical center is better able to offer the care that patients deserve.”

Not only will the investment by Mr. Armellino benefit Southern Ocean Medical Center, but it brings Meridian Health Foundation, to which the Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation belongs, one step closer to reaching its fundraising goal of $150 million as part of the organization’s Giving Heals campaign. The campaign supports four important initiatives: strengthening oncology services, improving clinical outcomes, enhancing the patient experience and broadening clinical research and academic programs. More than $95 million has been raised so far to benefit eight Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals, including Jersey Shore University Medical Center, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, Bayshore Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Riverview Medical Center and Southern Ocean Medical Center.

To learn about how you can make a gift to Southern Ocean Medical Center or to the Giving Heals campaign, please call Jim Young, executive director, Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation at 609-978-3040 or visit www.Hackensackmeridianhealth.org/givingheals.