Way to Go! Eagle project benefits health care workers

A Commack High School student has created a tranquil outdoor space at a hospital as a way to thank health care workers for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daniel Shoemaker, a senior, organized the planting of a garden with shrubs and flowers as well as the installation of three new benches near the employee parking garage at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore. He decided on the project after hearing of the hard work of health care workers during the height of the pandemic from his aunt, Donna Tanzi, a nurse at South Shore.

Shoemaker, a Boy Scout in Troop 403, pursued the project as part of his Eagle Scout Award, the highest achievement attainable within the Boy Scouts of America.

“When it came time to decide what I wanted to do, it was a pretty easy decision,” Shoemaker said. “If any of nurses or doctors want to sit down and just relax after a hard day’s work, I’m really happy that they’ll have a nice place to do that.”

The teen funded the project by raising about $900 through a car wash last fall at Burr Intermediate School in Commack. He also received donations of building materials from Home Depot in Commack and landscaping supplies from Huntington-based Goldberg & Rodler Inc.

Shoemaker, 17, is a member of four honor societies at his school as well as the Computer Science and Future Engineers clubs.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.