Healthy You - Englewood Hospital and Medical Center

Take a Break and Smile
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center is very proud to announce
the release of Smile—a jazz CD—for the benefi t of the Dizzy Gillespie
Memorial Fund.
The Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund was established 15 years ago
to help finance the healthcare costs of uninsured jazz musicians.
“Dizzy Gillespie was a patient at Englewood Hospital in 1993,”
says Frank Forte, MD, oncologist and hematologist at Englewood
Hospital, who is also a jazz musician. “Before he passed, he expressed
his wish to help his fellow musicians who were unable to afford
healthcare treatment on their own. As a result, Englewood Hospital
set up the Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund.”
Smile is inspired by and dedicated to the everuplifting
spirit of Earl May (1927–2008).
GIVING BACK IN SONG
One of the musicians
included on Smile—worldrenowned
guitarist Roni
Ben-Hur—has been playing
jazz for two years in the lobby
of Englewood Hospital.
One day, as Dr. Forte was
listening to Roni perform with
fellow musician and good friend
Gene Bertoncini, he had an idea.
“I thought it would be great for
Celebrating Life
At Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, cancer
survivors are more than just brave, amazing
people—they rock!
On June 11, 2008, Englewood Hospital honored cancer survivors
and celebrated the value of life by hosting Survivors Rock!, an
evening of music with host DJ Bob Shannon from WCBS-FM and
featuring local rock band The Nerds.
“So much of what a cancer patient deals with involves serious
news and discussions, but Survivors Rock! is different from that,”
says Michael Schleider, MD, Chief of Oncology and Hematology
at Englewood Hospital. “It’s a great opportunity for survivors and
families to get to know each other. People relaxed, danced, and just
had a great time being together.”
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
This night encouraged everyone to have fun and feel the support
and promise of hope from Englewood Hospital.
“Our facility is a people-oriented place where we know our
patients by name and truly care about them,” says Phyllis Brown,
Manager of Community Outreach at Englewood Hospital.
2 ¦ HEALTHY YOU Fall 2008
them to donate their
time to record a CD,
with the proceeds
coming back to
the hospital,” says
Dr. Forte. “What
we didn’t expect
was that everybody
else involved in the
project—including
the producers,
Celebrated jazz musicians Roni Ben-Hur (left) and Gene
Bertoncini (right) are featured on Smile—a CD performed,
produced, recorded, mixed, and promoted entirely on a
volunteer basis. We thank the musicians, Motema Music,
Bennett Studios, the Jazz Foundation of America, and all other
collaborators for their generosity.
studio owners, and Motema, the record label—would provide their
talent and resources for free. They all gave back in song, and that’s
something very special.”
Dr. Forte adds that the CD will be dedicated to jazz bassist Earl
May, who joined Roni in afternoon lobby concert sessions for close
to two years before his passing in January.
“The title, Smile, is a tribute to Earl, whose music and personality
brought smiles to so many faces over the years.”
For more information about Smile, visit www.englewoodhospital.com.
Popular music group The Nerds (Spaz, Biff, Stretch, and Mongo) headlined Survivors Rock!
Pictured left to right are cancer survivor Erlinda Rubio; Mongo; Biff; oncologist Lewis Attas,
MD; Stretch; Spaz; cancer survivor Dawn Pavlu; oncologist Frank Forte, MD; and cancer
survivor Medea Paneilov.
“Survivors Rock! is the kind of event we love to have—one that
celebrates life’s joys and the beauty of being alive.”
For a referral to an Englewood Hospital oncologist, visit
www.BestOncologyDocs.com or call (201) 894-3456.
For a free subscription to Healthy You, please e-mail us at HealthyYou@EnglewoodHospital.com.