For Immediate Release
January 14, 2008
Contact: Laura Pollio
732-751-7537
lpollio@meridianhealth.com

ANNUAL SWEETHEART BALL SCHEDULED TO BENEFIT LOCAL CANCER CENTER

Neptune, NJ - The Eleventh Annual Sweetheart Ball benefiting the Jersey Shore University Medical Center Cancer Center will be held on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club in Farmingdale, from 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

The evening will include both live and silent auctions, a jewelry boutique by Earth Treasures, as well as 50/50 raffle, and music will be provided by the Jazz Lobsters. This year’s Sweetheart Ball chair is Eileen Sprance of Wall. The event is honoring the memory of William C. Black, a former Jersey Shore University Medical Center trustee.

“Eileen and her committee are working very hard to assemble a highly successful benefit for the Cancer Center,” stated Mollie Giamanco, chair of Jersey Shore University Medical Center Foundation. “We are thrilled with their enthusiasm and dedication. We look forward to all the wonderful support I know they will all receive so we can help those who are suffering in our region.”

Funds raised at the 2008 Sweetheart Ball will help purchase image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), a process which uses various imaging technologies to locate a tumor target prior to radiation therapy. IGRT drastically improves treatment accuracy; this increased precision allows for higher doses of radiation to be delivered while reducing the amount of healthy tissue exposed to radiation – ultimately leading to higher cure rates.

Tickets for the event are $200 per person. For more information about the Sweetheart Ball please contact Amy Siperstein, Special Events Coordinator at 732-751-5112.

About Jersey Shore University Medical Center
Jersey Shore University Medical Center, a member of the Meridian Health family, is a not-for-profit university teaching and home to the K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital – the first children's hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Jersey Shore is the regional provider of cardiac surgery, a program that has been ranked among the best in the Northeast, and is home to the only trauma center and nationally designated stroke center in the region. Jersey Shore University Medical Center specializes in cardiac care and surgery, orthopedics and rehabilitation, cancer care, and advanced women's and children's health services. For more information on Meridian’s advanced services or for a physician referral, call the Meridian Health Line at 1-800-560-9990 or visit www.meridianhealth.com.

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