South Nassau Supervisor Named as Fortune 52 Honoree

Suzanne Kornblatt, Mental Health Supervisor at South Nassau Communities Hospital’s SIBSPlace – a not-for-profit free program for well children who have a brother, sister or parent with a devastating disease – was recently named a Fortune 52 honoree by Long Island Press for her commitment to families in crisis.

The Fortune 52 column honors Long Island women who make significant, unique and lasting contributions to their communities and workplace. 

As mental health supervisor for the past eight years, Kornblatt monitors the overall operations of SIBSPlace, including supervising the creation of the children’s monthly therapeutic curriculum, planning and facilitating on- and off-site special events, and providing support and guidance to program participants.

She serves as a liaison to families, providing information and referrals, and facilitates a weekly parent support group. In addition, Kornblatt offers staff members and volunteers supervision and in-service training, maintains the SIBS web site and creates quarterly newsletters to increase community awareness and facilitate agency networking. She also co-facilitates community education training on siblings’ response to illness and anxiety management in children.

Since June of 2009, Kornblatt has also worked with the Pediatrics Chair and Nurse Manager to develop and supervise the Child & Family Life program at South Nassau Communities Hospital. SIBS/SNCH Child & Family Life services are available to children and families to provide emotional support and facilitate adjustment to medical encounters throughout the hospital.

Kornblatt recently co-authored a guide for parents, Staying Afloat, which offers both insight and practical advice about the complicated feelings well children struggle with daily, as told through fictional examples based on real-life situations.

Realizing the importance of community awareness, Kornblatt has helped educate the community about the needs of well children and how the dynamics in a family change when sickness occurs, whether it’s that of a child or a parent.

Over the years, her efforts have helped to stimulate annual fundraising efforts by a number of schools/groups with the proceeds benefitting SIBSPlace. These include Hewlett High School’s “Hoops for Hope,” a “Bowl-A-Thon,” spearheaded by a high school for a senior project at Woodmere Lanes,  as well as many other fundraising events.

Kornblatt has also been instrumental in the creation of the “Lunch & Learn Series” whereby counselors from local schools and community social workers attend a luncheon that details the impact of sickness on a family. SIBSPlace has also hosted and participated in “Child Champions Meetings,” where SIBS staff members interface and exchange ideas with other mental health professionals working in the field of cancer.

Kornblatt is a licensed Social Worker and holds her master’s degree in Social Work from Adelphi University.  She also has a Certificate for Clinical Supervision from Adelphi University and a Certificate in Cognitive Behavior Therapy from Columbia University. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Educational Specialists.