NEWBURGH – More than 200 guests including former patients, families and dedicated staff attended St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital’s (SLCH) Elaine Kaplan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Annual NICU Graduate Birthday Party held on July 22 at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the hospital’s Level II NICU.
“Being able to reconnect with so many families we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know through the years at this annual event, is so special to all of us at SLCH,” Dr. Prabhakar Kocherlakota (Dr. KP), who has worked in the Elaine Kaplan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit since it opened. “We are dedicated to providing the highest quality care for our newest patients and their families during what can be a very stressful time.”
Notable attendees included Alexandra and Sydney Beck, twin girls who were cared for in the Elaine Kaplan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit eighteen years ago. These NICU graduates are not only national honor society inductees, and are going to pursue higher studies in colleges in NY on scholarships. Sydney is also valedictorian of her class from Christian Faith Academy of Duchess county. They were accompanied by their mother and grandmother.
The event was co-chaired by Jill Cappa of the St. Luke’s Cornwall Health System Foundation Board of Directors, and the SLCH Auxiliary and Christine Cahill, also a member of the Hospital’s Auxiliary Board.
“The opportunity to celebrate with so many families in the community is truly touching, “Cappa said. “The health, happiness and success of these children are a tribute to the efforts of Dr. KP and his staff.”
The food, venue and entertainment were donated by local businesses and community members.
“We would like to thank Mr. William Kaplan and the Newburgh Armory Unity Center for hosting this event for the third consecutive year,” said Anne Marie Schoonhoven, Executive Director of the St. Luke’s Cornwall Health System Foundation.
Since its inception in 1997, the NICU has cared for premature infants and term newborns with infections, birth defects, breathing difficulties and multiple problems. Named after the late Elaine Kaplan, a local philanthropist who, along with her family, identified the need for enhanced health care for infants in this community, the Level II Unit provides a transport service for critically ill babies born at hospitals without neonatal expertise.
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