VALLEY STREAM, NY -- With the commemoration of the eighth anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom and recent developments in Libya, the welfare of US military personnel remains a matter of pressing concern. In appreciation of the sacrifices made by veterans and their families, leaders from Franklin Hospital and the North Shore-LIJ Health System today joined with representatives from the Nassau County American Legion to honor two staff members: Paul J.Kubiak, MD, who recently returned from Iraq, and Deborah Scott, RN, MSN, who will soon be deployed to the Middle East.

Dr. Kubiak is an orthopedic surgeon at Franklin Hospital who was deployed in September 2010 to serve in Tikrit, Iraq, with the US Army Reserves’ 402 Forward Surgical Team from Massachusetts, which is attached to the 21st Combat Support Hospital from Fort Hood, Texas. His first tour in Iraq was in 2007. He returned to work at Franklin earlier this year and says he is “catching up on life here.”

Ms. Scott, an Emergency Department nurse at Franklin since 1981, has served in the US Air Force Reserves for 24 years, having worked her way up the military ladder to lieutenant colonel. A medical reservist flight nurse in the 514th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, she has served in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003-2005 and in Operation Enduring Freedom last year.

"I'm overwhelmed by this great show of support from all of you,” Ms. Scott told attendees at a news conference Wednesday at Franklin Hospital, including members of the Nassau County American Legion and numerous Vietnam veterans, wearing jackets that bore the legend of their military service. “We honor the work that you do and will continue to support you,” Frank Colon, commander of the Nassau County American Legion, said as he presented Dr. Kubiak and Ms. Scott with a Blue Star Banner, a special flag displayed by families with loved ones serving overseas. Noting that there are more than 90,000 veterans living in Nassau County and over 100,000 in Suffolk County, Mr. Colon praised the work of medical staff who use their skills to help wounded soldiers during combat duty.

Also at Wednesday’s news conference, Franklin Hospital executive director Joseph Manopella displayed 35 boxes of supplies being shipped overseas as part of the North Shore-LIJ’s “Adopt-A-Platoon” program. Supplies for 250 boxes – amounting to more than a ton of materials -- were collected at North Shore-LIJ facilities throughout the region, and will be shipped to soldiers serving in the 6th Cavalry’s 6th Squadron, part of the Army’s10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum in upstate New York.

“It is our honor and our duty to take care of our veterans and their families,” said Joseph Schulman, executive director of The Zucker Hillside Hospital, which oversees the health system’s Office of Military and Veterans Liaison Services, which has initiated a range of healthcare services for veterans throughout the region.

Media Contact: Michelle Pinto
516-465-2649/Cell 917-327-3898
mpinto@nshs.edu