Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation to Host Signature Social in Support of Surgical Expansion at Southern Ocean Medical Center
More than fifty years ago, a small group of committed Long Beach Island residents who shared a dream to build a community hospital rallied together to see it through. For twenty years, that same group fundraised tirelessly to ensure their fellow local residents had access to quality health care within their community. Their shared dream became a reality when Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center — formerly known as Southern Ocean County Hospital — opened its doors in 1972. Today, philanthropy remains a crucial part of Southern Ocean Medical Center’s makeup, so much so that Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation is hosting its annual Signature Social to raise critical funds to build upon that dream — a robust surgical expansion to meet the growing health care needs of the community.
Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation, the philanthropic entity of the hospital, will be hosting its annual Signature Social at Bonnet Island Estate in Manahawkin on Friday, August 4. Proceeds from the event will support the surgical expansion project, which is slated to cost about $25 million, and will transform the hospital’s entire surgical suite. Included in the project, which will span thirty months, is the expansion of six state-of-the-art operating rooms to 600+ square feet, enabling them to accommodate local and minor procedures, and the extension of the sterile processing department — critical to any surgical suite.
The project will greatly reduce patients’ wait times and comes during a time when there is great growth taking place — community and business-wide — all throughout Southern Ocean County. The hospital has increased its services over the last decade to accommodate the exponential growth of Ocean County’s population due to an influx of new full-time residents, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Southern Ocean Medical Center has not had any major enhancements or renovations in the last twenty years, making this an exciting endeavor for the community, which is once again banding together and relying on the power of philanthropy to build upon the dream of its founders.
To purchase tickets or sponsorships, visit GiveHMH.org/SOMCSocial. To learn more about how you can support Southern Ocean Medical Center’s surgical expansion, contact James Young, executive director of Southern Ocean Medical Center, at james.young@hmhn.org or 609-978-3040.
