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Robert C. Della Rocca, M.D. Receives Humanitarian Awards from National and State Organizations

PHOTO: Dr. and Mrs. Della Rocca at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary Holiday Gala 2002

New York, NY (November 2003) -- Robert C. Della Rocca, M.D., chief of Ophthalmic Plastic, Reconstructive & Orbital Surgery at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and chairman of Ophthalmology at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center, is a 2003 recipient of the Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award, a prestigious national honor given to only three doctors each year by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. It is being presented before a gathering of thousands at the Academy's national convention November 18.

The award is designed to recognize “Academy members who have demonstrated a pattern of humanitarian service in the United States or abroad.” Dr. Della Rocca is founder and coordinator of the Volunteer Health Program in the Dominican Republic and has served as visiting professor and surgeon in places as diverse as Cairo, Jerusalem, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Additionally, he has served as a mentor to more than 45 colleagues from 21 countries who spent time with him at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary to learn new surgical techniques and treatment modalities.

Dr. Della Rocca was nominated for the award by the New York State Ophthalmological Society (NYSOS) Board of Directors, which also voted him recipient of its 2003 Hobie Award for humanitarian service. The award recognizes an ophthalmologist who demonstrates outstanding commitment to his patients, community and profession. It was presented at a recent ceremony by NYSOS president James McGroarty of Long Island College Hospital.

The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, a member of Continuum Health Partners, Inc., was founded in 1820 and is the oldest specialty hospital in the Western Hemisphere. It is also an affiliated teaching hospital of New York Medical College. 

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Photos from the Event 

Darlene Della Rocca (2nd from right), a registered nurse, helped found Volunteer Health Program and accepted NYSOS's Hobie Award on his behalf as he was on a trip to Honduras with the organization. Also at the award ceremony were (left to right) Ken Rolston of Pfizer and Dr. Robert Morello, who have also been on these medical missions, the Della Roccas' daughter Amy, and Dr. Joseph Walsh, chairman of ophthalmology at NYEE. 

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Media Information

If you are a reporter seeking to interview this or any other doctor at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, please contact Jean Thomas, at (212) 979-4274, or Axel F. Bang, at (914) 234-5433.

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