Community helps fund incubator for premature babies
By Jenna Bagcal / jbagcal@
qns.com
Premature babies born at
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
(SJEH) in the Rockaways will
now have access to a state-ofthe
art piece of equipment to
help them thrive.
The hospital announced
that it would be purchasing a
new Giraffe Incubator Carestation
with the help of generous
donor contributions. The
apparatus provides newborns
with calm and caring surroundings
and helps to monitor,
assess and treat neonates
in their own environment.
According to Senior Vice
President of Medical Affairs
and Chief Medical Officer,
Donald Morrish, MD, the use
of the incubator cuts down
on “unnecessary” handling of
premature babies while giving
parents and other family
access to the babies in order to
form important bonds.
Efforts to raise money for
the Giraffe Incubator began
last year when the hospital
implemented the first-ever Giving
Tuesday campaign. Often
stylized as #GivingTuesday, it
refers to the Tuesday after U.S.
Thanksgiving and marks a day
of global, charitable giving.
They set a goal to raise
$16,000 to purchase the lifesaving
Caribbean Life, N 46 ovember 15-21, 2019
equipment on Tuesday,
Nov. 27, 2018. Donors gave a
total of $2,287 that day, which
served as the starting point for
additional support.
In January 2019, hospital
board member Daniel Kasle
continued the fundraising
efforts by suggesting SJEH
receive the money raised from
his employer’s monthly Demin
Day. The Church Pension
Group (CPG) staff raised over
$700, Kasle contributed $760
and the organization contributed
more funds for a grand
total of $3,025.
SJEH now had a little over
$10,000 to raise to meet its
goal and approached Angels
on the Bay, a local nonprofit
that supports programs and
facilities providing health care
services to children. The hospital
submitted a proposal,
which the organization’s board
of directors approved. Angels
on the Bay officially awarded
the hospital with the grant on
Oct. 15.
“To get the ball rolling, we
went to place the order for
the incubator. That is when
A Giraffe Incubator Carestation. St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
we realized the total price was
actually $20,000 with all the
additional pieces of equipment
needed to support it,”
said Nancy Leghart, director
of foundation. Thankfully,
that same week, a generous
unrestricted donation came in
from Neponsit resident Marvin
Eisenstadt.”
Leghart explained that
Eisenstadt was a premature
baby and was also the sole
survivor of a set of twins. The
donor shared that a hospital
in Coney Island had the only
incubator that saved his life.
“When we told him about
how we would like to use his
gift, he was touched, and with
good reason,” said Leghart.
“He said that if it were not for
an incubator, he would not be
alive today.”
“We are so grateful to everyone
for their generous support
and ongoing commitment to
St. John’s. This equipment will
raise the level of quality care so
we can continue to effectively
care for the newest members
of our community,” said Morrish.
/qns.com