Grammy-winning rocker Gavin DeGraw played a surprise show Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the grand opening of the New York Cancer and Blood Specialists new facility in Port Jefferson Station.
DeGraw, who won a Grammy for his duet with Colbie Caillat on the song “We Both Know,” expressed his excitement for the new building, which makes more accessible to Long Islanders a wide range of cutting edge treatment techniques in oncology, radiation therapy, clinical trials, and personalized medicine.
“I’m excited to be here with all of you for the opening of this great building,” DeGraw told the crowd of fans surprised by the impromptu performance. “I hope to see it do great things and help so many people.”
With physicians on call for 24 hours a day and services 365 days a year, the new center has already started treating patients in their fight against cancer as well as running research clinical trials and offering second opinions to those looking for newer advances in their treatment.
“It’s an unbelievable honor and a privilege every day to be allowed to care for these heroes that we have and see every day, that come walking into our offices,” said Dr. Jeff Vacirca, CEO and managing partner of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists. “Without the help of some really remarkable individuals we couldn’t have done such a remarkable thing and made a project like this happen. We have made a facility with great exposure to our community, with the availability of imaging, of pharmacy, of chemotherapy, of research right around the corner from all of our patients, where they can walk 20 feet and see their doctors.”
The opening was joined by multiple local officials who helped make the building come a reality. Brookhaven Councilmen Neil Foley and Kevin LaValle along with Councilwomen Jane Bonner and Valerie Cartright joined Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine as he cut the ribbon officially opening the building to the public.
“This center is saving lives of our friends, our neighbors, and our family,” said Romaine. “So many people will use this facility in the next few years and they will walk out hopefully in remission, cured, and living a much healthier life than they were when they walked in. This is a center that is so important.
“So many people, some of our close friends, owe their life to this institution,” he continued. “There are so many people who need healing. They can come here and get back on the road to recovery.”
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