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South secures $850,000 for erosion project severe weather events. S u p e r i n t e n d e n t Way n e Loper said the district first An $850,000 federal funding realized the extent of the probaward will help Valley Stream lem more than three years ago South High School move for- while planning to replace a ward with a long-planned deteriorating maintenance shoreline stabilization project garage near the creek at Valley Stream South High designed to stop School. worsening erosion “We could end along Va l l e y u p h av i n g t o Stream Creek that replace everything school officials say and move to anoththreatens athletic er field, which facilities, maintewould mean you’d nance buildings have to reconstruct and other campus the entire thing infrastructure. again,” Loper said. The funding, “Millions of dollars s e c u re d t h ro u g h of investment in the Fiscal Year 2026 our school are in appropriations projeopardy if we don’t cess by Rep. Laura WAYNE LOpER do this project.” Gillen, will support Superintendent, During the early repairs along the Valley Stream Central stages of that projnorther n edge of High School District ect, architects surthe campus, where ve y i n g t h e s i t e years of erosion and storm damage have steadi- determined the shoreline had ly n a r rowe d t h e d i s t a n c e eroded so close to the building between the creek and school that reconstruction could not safely proceed without first staproperty. The project is intended to bilizing the embankment. District officials expanded protect areas including the track and football field, score- their assessment and found the board, north parking lot and erosion stretched across severstorage buildings from future al hundred feet of school propdamage and flooding during ContInued on page 9
By ANGELINA ZINGARIELLO
azingariello@liherald.com
M
Courtesy Northwell Health
Brandon Brower has spent six years building a career at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospitall, moving up from critical care patient care associate to assistant nurse manager.
LIJ nurse Brandon Brower grows into leadership role By ANGELINA ZINGARIELLO azingariello@liherald.com
As National Nurses Week highlights the important role of these healthcare workers across the country each May, recognition for nurses like Brandon Brower should extend well beyond a single week. Brower, 28, has spent the past six years building his career at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital, growing from a critical care patient care associate during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to an assistant nurse manager overseeing multiple critical care units. This year, Brower was nominated for Northwell Health’s Truly Awards in both the initiative and collaborative categories, recognitions that honor nurses who demon-
strate leadership, innovation and teamwork. At the hospital, he is known for his teamwork, as well as his flexibility and patientcentered care. Outside the hospital, Brower has worked to strengthen ties with the community through a beach cleanup initiative he launched in Long Beach last year. Brower’s path into nursing began long before he entered a hospital as a professional. As a child, he spent much of the first years of his life in and out of hospitals after being diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia, an immune deficiency disorder that left him vulnerable to infections. “I was very sick as a baby, and it was kind of like the first three years of my life, and all the little memories that I ever possibly have blips of, were of nurses caring for me, ContInued on page 8
illions of dollars of investment in our school are in jeopardy if we don’t do this project.