Stony Brook To Provide EMTs At 'Sun Safe' Great South Bay Music Fest

PATCHOGUE, NY — Stony Brook Medicine will serve as the Great South Bay Music Festival's exclusive healthcare partner by providing Emergency Medical Technicians on site for medical needs, as the event celebrates its second year with a sun safety policy, according to a news release from Stony Brook Medicine.

The policy aims to help protect attendees and staff from ultraviolet overexposure.

UV radiation from the sun is the primary cause of skin cancer, the most common form of cancer in the United States, with almost 500 Suffolk residents diagnosed yearly with melanoma, which is higher than any other county in the state.

Stony Brook Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention in Action program supports Long Island organizations and businesses with high outdoor exposure to adopt policies that reduce UV exposure and promote sun safety.

Festival organizer Jim Faith, a cancer survivor himself, said he knew that sun safety at the festival was a “no-brainer.”

Faith began working with Stony Brook Cancer Center’s CPiA program in early 2022 to plan their sun safety policy, which was piloted at last year’s festival.

“We were honored to adopt a sun safety policy for the festival,” Faith said. “We were able to raise awareness [about skin cancer] while simultaneously targeting the very people who were being affected by the sun’s harmful UV rays.”

One dollar from each festival ticket sale will be donated to Stony Brook Cancer Center’s innovative novel-therapy research programs, as the festival has done in years past.

The festival’s sun safety policy includes free sunscreen, with over 10,000 sunscreen samples distributed at last year’s festival. Standing sunscreen dispensers were also stationed throughout the festival grounds to help attendees stay sun safe throughout the day.

Festival attendees were also encouraged to bring sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, and clothing to cover up — all proven strategies to reduce UV overexposure.

Staff received free sun safety swag bags, with clip-on sunscreen bottles, UV protective sunglasses, and information on staying sun safe while working.

The items were also available for attendees at the Stony Brook Cancer Center table. These same strategies will be in effect again this year.

With temperatures expected to reach the 80s during this year’s festival, the sun safety policy will once again provide sun protection to over 15,000 attendees and staff.

By using the SUNSAFE code, ticket purchasers can get 10% off a festival ticket at checkout.

For more information, go to greatsouthbaymusicfestival.com.