St. Mary’s Honored with Legislative Proclamation for Pioneering Home Healthcare in New York for Children with Special Needs

Bayside, NY – November 27, 2007 – As the largest provider of pediatric long-term home healthcare in New York, St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children had one additional reason to celebrate Home Care Month this November. St. Mary’s is the recipient of a New York State Legislative proclamation honoring its pioneering efforts in Home Care for children, with special recognition of its Care at Home program that enables medically fragile children to be cared for at home. The proclamation was presented to St. Mary’s by Joanne Cunningham, president of the Home Care Association of New York State at a Home Care celebration at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children on Thursday, November 15, 2007.

Knowing that home is the most appropriate care setting for children, St. Mary’s introduced home healthcare for New York’s children as an effective treatment option nearly 25 years ago. Today, St. Mary’s cares for close to 4,000 children each day through its vast array of long- and short-term home care programs throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, Westchester and beyond.

The standing-room only event attracted home care nurses, therapists, social workers, case managers, patients and families, and local media. Several families offered a glimpse into the importance of home healthcare in facing the daily challenges of caring for children with special needs and life-limiting conditions.

But no one gave a more poignant or energetic account than 10-year old Christopher Alvarez, a Care at Home patient of St. Mary’s for the past eight years who has a rare and serious form of dwarfism. While Christopher is reliant on a ventilator to breath and a wheel chair to move about, his condition has certainly not limited his enthusiasm. He raced to the stage for his chance at the microphone to thank St. Mary’s and his case worker, Paulette Mullings, RN for their assistance over the years. As Christopher so graciously remarked, “Paulette is a wonderful woman, and is welcome in my house any time.”

For more information on St. Mary’s vast array of Home Care programs and services for children, please call 1-800-270-2478.

St. Mary’s is one of the nation’s premier providers of healthcare for children with special needs and life-limiting conditions. St. Mary’s provides intensive rehabilitative and specialized medical care to nearly 4,000 children each day in the New York Metropolitan region and beyond through its family-centered inpatient, home care, and community programs.