Council Member Vickie Paladino presented a $600,000 check to St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children to aid in the development of an 18-bed inpatient expansion.
Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children
New York City Council Member Vickie Paladino recently provided a $600,000 grant to the St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children to help fund a new 18-bed inpatient unit.
This new expansion at St. Mary’s, located at 29-01 216th St. in Bayside, is meant to reduce the hospital’s waiting list for medically complex children with special healthcare needs, whose families have been trying to get them admitted for inpatient care.
“When St. Mary’s Kids first came to me about the need for an expansion and additional beds, I knew I had to do everything I could to make it happen for them,” Paladino said. “This $600,000 investment is about making sure some of our most vulnerable children have access to the care they need, when they need it. Families across Northeastern Queens and beyond have been waiting too long for these critical services. By supporting the expansion at St. Mary’s, we are helping to reduce that burden, strengthen our healthcare system and give more children the opportunity to receive compassionate, high-quality care close to home.”
Council Member Paladino explores the future fourth-floor inpatient unit with St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children President and CEO Sean Lally. Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children
Paladino’s $600,000 in funding builds upon the nearly $1 million in capital support secured by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, which was announced during a press conference on Dec. 15 in the hospital’s lobby. Both grants will support the fourth-floor unit’s renovation and expansion, creating spaces for 18 more children to stay.
“We are so grateful to Councilwoman Paladino, a longtime supporter of St. Mary’s, who has previously funded important initiatives such as our patient transport van,” St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children President and CEO Sean Lally said. “This additional support builds on earlier investments and brings us closer to opening this new unit so we can serve more of New York’s children and families in need.”
St. Mary’s is the only New York City-based center for pediatric long-term and rehabilitative care. The hospital has served New Yorkers for more than 150 years. In addition to providing a continuum of care to children with medically complex conditions through its inpatient hospital facility in Bayside, St. Mary’s also offers home care services and community programs.