Newswise — All members of the community are invited to attend Hackensack Meridian Health Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation’s Third Annual Signature Social fundraising event. The cocktail reception takes place on Friday, July 28, 2017 at Bonnet Island Estate on Long Beach Island from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Proceeds will support programs and services at Southern Ocean Medical Center.

This year’s event will provide guests with an opportunity to learn more about recent developments at Southern Ocean Medical Center, including a brand new emergency department and cancer care center, renovations to the main lobby and outpatient care areas and a Hackensack Meridian Health partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center which means patients now have new opportunities to benefit from world-class cancer care protocols.

“Southern Ocean was recently named a finalist by NJBiz as Best Hospital of the Year,” explains Robert H. Adams, Jr., FACHE, president of Southern Ocean Medical Center. “It’s an incredible honor to receive this nomination. It exemplifies how much Southern Ocean is excelling, and we could not make these significant advancements without the community’s support.”

A gourmet menu of hors d’oeuvres, stations and premium cocktails will be served, and guests are encouraged to attend in summer cocktail attire (jackets are not required). The reception is co-chaired by Joseph Lattanzi, M.D., Kimberly Hogan, M.D, Thomas Yu, M.D. and Jane Yu and supported by Celebration Sponsor, Southern Ocean Medical Center Medical Staff and Reception Sponsors, Coastal Radiology, Joseph Lattanzi, M.D. and Kimberly Hogan, M.D and Phoenix Medical Construction.

Tickets are $500 each and can be purchased online at HackensackMeridianHealth.org/SOMCsocial or by contacting Meagan O’Flaherty, special events associate, at 732-751-5101 or [email protected]. Sponsorships and 50/50 cash raffle chances are also available.

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 13 hospitals, including two academic medical centers, two children's hospitals and nine community hospitals, physician practices, more than 120 ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, and urgent care and after-hours centers. Hackensack Meridian Health has 28,000 team members, more than 6,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

The Network's notable distinctions include having one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more consecutive years, the number one hospital in New Jersey as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, a six-time recipient of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For," one of the "20 Best Workplaces in Health Care" in the nation, and the number one "Best Place to Work for Women." Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

The hospitals of Hackensack Meridian Health include: academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune; children's hospitals – Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; community hospitals – Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood.

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.