Southampton Hospital Foundation Celebrated Installation Of Artwork By Patti Grabel

On Thursday, July 6, the Southampton Hospital Foundation celebrated the installation of new artwork by local artist and resident Patti Grabel at the Stony Brook Medicine Phillips Family Cancer Center in Southampton.

The piece entitled “I am my answer” is made up of two parts. One is a neon light blue sign with the words “I am my answer” written in Grabel’s own handwriting. On an adjacent wall, is a poem, also composed by Grabel, which brings to life the journey of finding hope and strength within when times are tough.

Commenting, Grabel said, “It is such an honor to create art for this vitally important facility. I am so happy that you can see the light of the work beaming out from the center into the road. It mirrors the process of finding your power from within and then sending it out into the world. I hope that my work inspires hope and strength in patients and their families and I am so grateful to collaborate with the Southampton Hospital Foundation.”

Over 100 people attended the ceremony including Grabel’s husband, Isidore Mayrock, Hamptons resident and Estée Lauder Chairman William Lauder, “Real Housewives of New York” Jill Zarin, Jean Shafiroff, and other friends and neighbors.

Dr. Fred Weinbaum, Interim Chief Administrative Officer added, “When undergoing treatment for cancer, the emotions we experience may confound and surprise us. Fear and anxiety co-exist with hope and resilience. Art can soothe our spirit and allow us to process our emotions. In ideal circumstances, the environment of care provides a sense of well-being. In that environment, art sustains us and serves to remind us of the beauty in the world. So thank you Patty and Izzy Mayrock for making our world more beautiful.”

Ken Wright, Chairman of the Southampton Hospital Associations, concluded with, “Our mission is always to support the Hospital in finding ways to improve and enhance the first class, compassionate care that the Hospital provides. Thanks to the Phillips Family we were able to build and open this state of the art facility in 2019. Since then scores of patients have been treated here, in this beautiful, light-filled, converted potato barn. We all know that patients who have a positive outlook enjoy better outcomes. We are so grateful to Patti for helping to enhance our patients’ experience in this way.”

The art is permanently installed. The PFCC is the only cancer treatment center on the South Fork offering radiation therapy and medical oncology and it saves patients having to travel hours for treatment. The center has the latest technology including the most advanced linear accelerator on the East End and a Varian Linear accelerator Truebeam which provides more precise targeting of cancer cells during radiation therapy, sparing healthy surrounding tissue.