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A South Shore University Hospital nurse is a key member of the Northwell Health Nurse Choir that received the coveted Golden Buzzer during its “America’s Got Talent” audition that aired this week.
Josh Hombrebueno and 17 of his Northwell colleagues absolutely killed it on the NBC program Tuesday night, dressed in their scrubs and performing an inspirational mashup of “Stand By Me” and “Lean on Me.”
The Stony Brook University graduate is a cardiothoracic ICU nurse at South Shore in Bay Shore. Hombrebueno explained in his Nurse Choir bio that he got his start in music with his high school choir. Throughout college, he stayed active in musical theater and a cappella, he said.
“Aside from music and medicine, I enjoy teaching chemistry, cooking and tinkering with pour over coffee and espresso,” he notes in his bio. “I’m also a proud dad to a fat gray cat.”
The choir received judge Howie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer, fast-tracking the group to the show’s live final rounds. The 18 nurses — from hospital across Long Island and New York City — moved the judges to tears with their Hollywood performance, which kicked off the premiere of the show’s 16th season.
Formed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Nurse Choir performs at benefit concerts and events, helping to raise awareness of the global nursing shortage and provide funds for nursing scholarships.
Click on the box below to watch their performance.
“This group of men and women are a symbol of the strength and resilience of Northwell Health and the entire nation as we endured the COVID crisis,” Northwell President and CEO Michael Dowling said. “I am immensely proud of our Nurse Choir and what they represent; I will be rooting for them every step of the way.”
The Nurse Choir returns to Hollywood in August when the show enters its live rounds, and America votes. The group hopes to take home the grand prize of a $1 million dollars.
