Memorial Gala a Ringing Success
The Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center’s marquee event, the Premier, was a star-studded success last Saturday night at the Seneca Niagara Casino, attracting close to 1,000 people who clearly had a wonderful time contributing and mingling with some of the area’s biggest names as well as many guests from the everyday world.
Ch. 2 news anchor Maryalice Demler once again served as emcee and she kept things moving quite nicely after the guests had enjoyed a superb dinner, introducing Memorial President and CEO Joseph Ruffolo who outlined the major advancements at the Medical Center, including the opening in 2016 of the new Golisano Center for Community Health, the result of the $3.5 million lead gift from former Sabres owner Tom Golisano.
Ruffolo also spoke of the contributions to the hospital and the community by the gala’s top award recipients, attorney James Roscetti and Dr. Komal Chandan. Roscetti, a partner in the Roscetti & DeCatro law firm, also serves as chairman of the board of the hospital. Dr. Chandan, a family practice physician, currently serves as medical director of Memorial’s Schoellkopf Health Center.
It would be near impossible to name all of the celebrity guests in attendance, but they included:
-Henry Wojtaszek, political power broker and president and CEO of Western OTB
-Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, Lewiston Mayor Terry Collesano, and former Lewiston Mayor Dick Soluri
-Former State Sen. George Maziarz
-Niagara County Legislator Dennis Virtuoso
-Paul Grenga of the One Niagara Welcome Center
-Restaurateur Russ Salvatore
Memorial Medical Center is the only hospital in Niagara Falls and the leading teaching hospital in Niagara County. The 171-bed hospital has an adjacent 120-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility (Schoellkopf) and outpatient centers in Niagara Falls, Lewiston, Town of Niagara, Wheatfield, Grand Island, and North Tonawanda.
This fall, Memorial will admit its first patients to an all-new $4.3 million inpatient Cardiac/Stroke Care floor, featuring 25 rooms and a rehabilitation therapy facility to encourage quicker patient recovery.
Judging from Saturday night’s turnout, people throughout the area have come to recognize and appreciate the role that Memorial is playing in the community when it come to health care. It was an event that shined brightly and helped focus attention on the good work that this facility is doing for all of its patients.
