The Sexy Salad Joins Forces with Mather Hospital's Heart Healthy Program

Thanks to Mather Hospital's Heart Healthy Program "Just Ask Us!" (a grant funded by New York State Department of Health), Long Island residents have more ammunition in the battle against cardiovascular disease if they decide to "Eat Well…While Eating Out." Through the "Just Ask Us!" program, restaurants modify recipes and portions to help their customers follow a healthy diet. They need only to "Just Ask."

This is important since a recent article in the New York Times reports that death rates from heart disease in New York City and its suburbs are among the highest recorded in the country. Death rates from heart disease in Nassau County and Suffolk County are nearly 300 per 100,000 compared to 253 per 100,000 for the national average according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control.

"Most people want to make healthier food choices both at home and when eating out," said Randy Ackerman, RD, Just Ask Us Coordinator at Mather Hospital. "Your favorite restaurant can help us show people that good taste and healthy eating do go hand in hand."

Giving Back to The Community

The Morgan Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to providing preschool age children who are undergoing treatment for cancer the opportunity to interact and socialize, in a safe environment that stimulates cognitive and social development.

Children on chemotherapy treatment have a suppressed immune system, and could otherwise risk infection and serious illness by attending typical age appropriate preschool programs.

The Morgan Center is located in the Plainview Cultural Development Center