{"id":88896,"date":"2026-01-04T18:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88896\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T18:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:06:09","slug":"staten-island-university-hospital-spreads-holiday-cheer-for-pediatric-cancer-patients-and-their-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88896\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island University Hospital spreads holiday cheer for pediatric cancer patients and their families"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 If you were in need of a true dose of holiday magic this season, Northwell\u2019s Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) came through during its annual celebration for children who are undergoing cancer care.<\/p>\n

Hosted at the Historic Old Bermuda Inn, the iconic Rossville venue was transformed into a winter wonderland filled with laughter, warmth and unforgettable moments for pediatric oncology patients and their families.<\/p>\n

The festive event was generously funded by John Vincent Scalia, proprietor of the longtime catering venue, along with members of the South Shore Rotary Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis celebration gives our patients the opportunity to spend time together with their families and siblings in a space that\u2019s not a hospital or clinic,\u201d said Dr. Eleny Romanos-Sirakis, director of Pediatric Hematology\/Oncology at SIUH. \u201cWhile our goal is always to provide the best possible medical care, supporting quality of life is just as important. Seeing so many smiles and happy moments today is incredibly meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event welcomed families for an afternoon of festive food, desserts, games, crafts and prizes, capped off with a special visit from Santa Claus. The celebration created a joyful escape for children who spend much of their time navigating treatment and medical appointments.<\/p>\n

\"SIUH\"Mr. and Mrs. Claus arrive at the holiday gathering. (Courtesy\/NorthwellSIUH\/Jillian O’Hara)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

Laughter filled the room as Mr. and Mrs. Claus surprised the children with a playful snowball fight, tossing soft, fluffy toy snowballs across the room in the banquet venue.<\/p>\n

Adding to the excitement, Amazon helped deliver even more holiday magic by fulfilling more than 100 individualized wish lists for pediatric oncology patients, along with gifts for siblings, ensuring that every child was included in the celebration. <\/p>\n

\"SIUH\"A child pauses for a photo at the Northwell SIUH holiday party at the Historic Old Bermuda Inn. (SIUH\/Jillian O’Hara)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

Additional presents were donated by Avery Marder of The William D. Wernicoff Children\u2019s Foundation and the South Shore Rotary Club, further enhancing the spirit of generosity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe experienced an incredible outpouring of support this year,\u201d Dr. Romanos-Sirakis added. \u201cEvery child who attended had a chance to simply be a kid and left with armfuls of presents and lasting memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to those who supported the pediatric oncology holiday party, a number of organizations donated toys, gifts and supplies to SIUH\u2019s pediatric units throughout the season. <\/p>\n

\"SIUH\"A child selects a candy cane at the Northwell SIUH holiday party at the Historic Old Bermuda Inn. (Courtesy\/Northwell SIUH\/Jillian O’Hara)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

The hospital extends its gratitude to the following donors for helping make the holidays brighter for so many children: <\/p>\n

Rocco Strong, American Cancer Society, Knights of Pythias, Amazon, Bottomless Toy Chest, John Vosilla Memorial, Chances for Charity, Judge Robert Gigante, P.S. 861, Susan E. Wagner High School, the NYPD, the Italian-American Women of Staten Island, Dento Teki Na Judo & Jujitsu Dojo, The Italian Club of Staten Island Foundation, New York Sanitation and Staten Island\/Manhattan South Community Outreach Division, Untouchable Cutz, Joey\u2019s Little Angels, Lily\u2019s Fight, the NYPD 112, the Howard family, Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation in collaboration with Lorenzo\u2019s Pizza, City Councilman Frank Morano of District 51, and many others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 If you were in need of a true dose of holiday magic this season,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-88896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}