Stylish, State-of-the-Art Birthing Center will Provide for the Growing Needs of the Surrounding Communities
St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, dedicated to providing the most comprehensive care to expectant mothers and their newborns, announced the creation of the Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center and accompanying fundraising effort at a press conference on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at the hospital.
Over the next 18 months, St. Vincent's will begin to redesign its existing labor and delivery unit to create a state-of-the-art birthing center - the Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center. The comprehensive renovation will provide a more comfortable and beautiful environment for patients, patient's families and their precious newborns. The renovations will include major upgrades to patient rooms, labor and delivery rooms, and waiting areas.
'We are extremely honored to be working with New York Giants' star quarterback, Eli Manning and his wife Abby to launch this exciting, state-of-the-art birthing center that will be an excellent resource for the community,' said Henry Amoroso, President and CEO of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers. 'St. Vincent's has a long history of highly skilled and expert obstetricians and nurses, and the new Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center will ensure that mothers and families have the most comfortable environment possible.'
'Over the last three years, Abby and I have visited St. Vincent's hospital numerous times, and have always been impressed with the compassion and expertise that the doctors and nurses show their patients,' stated Eli Manning, New York Giants' Quarterback. 'The new Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center will provide a comfortable state-of-the-art environment as St. Vincent's welcomes New York's smallest Giants fans into the world. We are also very excited to be involved in the upcoming Baby Ball that will raise funds for the Birthing Center.'
To support the project, St. Vincent's announced that it is holding its first-ever Baby Ball on June 18th, with Eli and Abby Manning as Vice Chairs of the Ball. Children's clothing designer Lucy Sykes, who gave birth to her two children at the hospital, will receive the Nurturing Neighbor Award at the Ball. All of the proceeds from this year's Ball will be dedicated to pay for the renovations to create the birthing center in the current space. The 5-year goal for the campaign is to raise $10 million, which will fund the Abby and Eli Manning Birthing Center in the new hospital planned by St. Vincent's.
'The Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center will build upon St. Vincent's strong tradition of midwifery, natural childbirth and holistic care, connecting the science and compassion that is the hospital's hallmark with an aesthetically superior environment,' explained Dr. George Mussalli, chairman of the department obstetrics and gynecology. 'As the West Village and neighborhoods around the hospital experience significant population increase in young families, prenatal care and renovation of the existing obstetrics unit are essential.'
'As a West Village resident, I know how important it is that my friends and neighbors have access to such a great resource as this new Birthing Center,' said Peter Georgiopoulos, Saint Vincent's Board Member and Co-Chair of the Ball with his wife Kara. 'This new birthing center will provide many expectant parents the comforts of home in the safety of a hospital setting.'
St. Vincent's Birthing Center has been a vital resource for many families giving birth in New York, some of whom were present at the press conference to celebrate the expansion, including, Mark Leonard and his wife Esther Mills (Baby Ball Vice Chairs) and their two 5-year old twins, who spent their first two months of life in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, as well as Eileen Shea, and her 9-year old quadruplets. Eileen actually spent 6 weeks in St. Vincent's delivery unit as she had preterm labor and Preeclampsia, her four children delivered prematurely, spent 2½ months in the neonatal intensive care unit.
