Newswise — Red Bank, NJ – July 9, 2019 – More than 500 guests gathered at the DiPiero home for the Seventh Annual Family Fireworks on the Navesink to support Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center Foundation on Wednesday, July 3. The event raised more than $250,000, which will go toward enhancing technologies and services at the medical center.

“This event gets better and better every year,” says Joseph Stampe, president and chief development officer, Hackensack Meridian Health Meridian Health Foundation. “Riverview Medical Center is fortunate to have incredible support from the community, as well as a fantastic board and friends like the DiPieros who generously host this event year after year. Philanthropy is vital in helping to provide cutting-edge technology, training our team members, enhancing the patient experience and creating new spaces for care, and we are grateful to everyone who came out in support of this tremendous cause.”

The Family Fireworks event featured a buffet, a variety of food trucks, inflatable rides, games and a 22-minute fireworks display timed to festive music.

“Once again, the fireworks were fantastic,” says Steven Scopellite, chair of the Riverview Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees. “But beyond the show, what was truly spectacular, was the community joining together for a cause that will greatly benefit area residents. This event provides supporters with the ability to gather for a great cause, while helping to keep alive the time honored tradition of fireworks on the Navesink.”

Funds raised at events such as the Family Fireworks on the Navesink all contribute toward a $150 million fundraising goal as part of the Meridian Health Foundation’s Giving Heals campaign. Giving Heals, which has currently raised more than $95 million, supports four important initiatives: strengthening oncology services, improving clinical outcomes, enhancing the patient experience and broadening clinical research and academic programs at the following Hackensack Meridian Health medical centers in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, Bayshore Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center and Southern Ocean Medical Center.

“Hosting the annual fireworks event has become part of Riverview Medical Center’s fabric and it’s an honor to host it every year,” says Hilary DiPiero, event chair and Riverview Medical Center Foundation trustee. “It is truly a joy to bring together such a diverse group of individuals who all come together in support of our fantastic medical center, which brings healing to so many.”

The Family Fireworks on the Navesink was generously sponsored by the following: Presenting Sponsors: Crazees Ice Cream Store and the Mulheren Family; Fireworks Sponsors: The Cullen Disque Family Foundation, The Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation, Mel and Terry Karmazin and The William & Janice Farber Charitable Fund; Title Sponsors: Compass One Healthcare, Excalibur Group and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center, P.A.

To learn more about how you can support Riverview Medical Center Foundation, or the Giving Heals campaign, contact Jennifer Smith, vice president of development, at 732-751-5115 or [email protected], or visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/GivingHeals.

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 16 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; 11 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, JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Additionally, the network has more than 180 patient care locations throughout the state which include 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 33,000 team members, and 6,500 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, four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey, including Hackensack University Medical Center which is ranked No. 1 by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include 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.

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

About Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center

Celebrating its 90th anniversary, Riverview Medical Center is a 492-bed not-for-profit community hospital located on the Navesink River in Red Bank, New Jersey. Riverview Medical Center provides health care programs and services in all major medical disciplines including: maternity, surgical services, emergency and cancer services. Riverview’s Cancer Center offers comprehensive cancer services close to home, while Riverview’s Jane H. Booker Women’s Center combines expertise and convenience to address preventative health, diagnosis, treatment and support for women of all ages.

Riverview Rehabilitation Center is Monmouth County’s only fully-accredited inpatient rehabilitation facility, and Riverview Medical Center is a designated Primary Stroke Center and has also maintained prestigious Magnet designation for Nursing Excellence since 1998. Riverview Medical Center is the only hospital in the region with the groundbreaking CyberKnife® system, offering a state-of-the-art alternative to surgery for some patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors. For more information about Riverview Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health, please call 1-800-560-9990 or visit www.riverviewmedicalcenter.com.

About the Giving Heals Campaign

Giving Heals is a $150 million regional comprehensive campaign to raise funds for strengthening oncology services, improving clinical outcomes, enhancing the patient experience and broadening clinical research and academic programs. Publicly announced at the Meridian Health Foundation Gala on November 17, 2018, the campaign will run through 2020. Over $90 million dollars has been raised to date to support following Hackensack Meridian Health medical centers: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, Ocean Medical Center, Riverview Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center – Perth Amboy, Raritan Bay Medical Center – Old Bridge, Southern Ocean Medical Center and Bayshore Medical Center.

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