Community Art Mosaic Unveiling the First in Series of Celebratory Events
VALHALLA, N.Y., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center, the advanced care pediatric facility serving New York's Hudson Valley region and parts of Fairfield County, Connecticut, turns five years old this September and will commemorate the milestone with a year-long series of events celebrating children and the community it serves.
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The first event is Saturday, September 12. That morning, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital will unveil a community-wide art mosaic commissioned for the hospital's fifth birthday. More than 100 artists of all ages and skill levels - including patients, parents, siblings and community members - answered the hospital's call for art earlier this year, submitting works reflecting the theme The Way We See It: What Maria Fareri Children's Hospital Means to Kids and Their Families. All of the pieces were brought together to form a 5' x 14' mosaic, which will be placed on prominent display in the hospital's lobby. Submitting artists from around the region have been invited to attend the event, at which birthday cake and light refreshments will be served.
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Other upcoming events carrying a fifth birthday theme include a reunion of Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit graduates September 16, the Fifth Annual 100.7 WHUD Children's Miracle Network Radiothon November 11-13th (both of these events will occur at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital), and the "Wines of the World" fundraiser November 19. Academic symposia for doctors and nurses are also planned.
"Our mission from the day we opened our doors was to provide advanced children's healthcare in a state-of-the-art setting that puts both children and parents at ease," explained Michael Gewitz, M.D., Physician-in-Chief, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. "I am very pleased to say that in five years we have touched the lives of almost 100,000 children and will help even more over the next five years and beyond."
Growing to Meet a Critical Need
The region's demand for Maria Fareri Children's Hospital's wide variety of services is continues to increase. This fact is realized through the hospital's daily inpatient rate, which has averaged well over 90% since the hospital opened.
To meet this growing regional need and to help heal more children, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital has embarked on a number of recent growth projects. For example pediatric emergency department beds were added last year, new in-patient beds were added this year and plans to add even more beds are under development. Moreover, the hospital has enhanced the depth and breadth of its clinical services with the addition of several new staff members and the enhancement of advanced pediatric specialty services, including neurosurgery, oncology, cardiology, solid organ transplantation, otolaryngology and many others.
"For the Health and Well-Being of All the Children in the World"
The hospital is named for Maria Fareri, a young girl from Greenwich, Connecticut, that passed away after an attack of rabies. The hospital is the only advanced care facility of its kind named for a child and was built through the inspiration provided by Maria's own wish expressed in a school project: "For the health and well-being of all the children in the world."
As an advanced care, all-specialty healthcare center, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center is a tertiary facility, treating the region's most complex childhood conditions. In fact, the hospital's case mix index reflects one of the highest acuity rates in the entire nation.
Caring for these children is an expert medical staff numbering in the hundreds. All are children's healthcare specialists. The hospital houses the region's only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit as well as its Level IV (most sophisticated) Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Pediatric specialty services include, but are not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences, trauma, oncology, transplant services and craniofacial care. For more information, please visit www.WorldClassMedicine.com/MFCH.
SOURCE Westchester Medical Center
