St. John’s ICARE Foundation Held Its First Patient Baby Shower Honoring Twenty-Two Soon-To-Be Moms.

Far Rockaway, New York, May 11, 2023 — St. John’s ICARE Foundation held its first patient baby shower honoring twenty-two soon-to-be moms, at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital on Sunday, May 7. The ICARE Foundation partnered with Olivia Farrell, a local Girl Scout from Troop #4771 who attends the same church as one of the Hospital’s auxiliary members, Maria Finley. Olivia mentioned her concern to Maria about how she was to achieve her goal of getting a gold award from the Girl Scouts. Maria suggested the idea of partnering with the ICARE Foundation. Olivia then went into action. Together with her classmates, Olivia was able to hold fundraisers at her school and collect numerous baby clothes and various items for the patient’s baby shower.

The expectant moms were showered with supportive gifts from the ICARE Foundation, and donations from Olivia Farrell, and Jacqueline Marecheau, MD. FACOG, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Te-Ana Souffrant, Labor, Birth & Post Partum/Hypno Doula (CD), at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital.

The hospital’s boardroom was completely decorated with pink and blue balloons, table linens, and decorative cupcakes. The moms received gifts, including oversized teddy bears, beautiful baby bags filled with items such as custom-made onesies by the Far Rock Shop in Far Rockaway, Baby Books, Diapers, and Baby Wipes, as well as post-partum maternal items for the moms. The Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Team donated the Baby bags for the baby shower and volunteered, by escorting the expectant moms with their bags to their cars at the end of the event.

“A lot of my family members always have big baby showers, and they give so much support to my cousins who are expecting babies. I just wanted to give the same support to others who may not be in the same situation”, says Olivia Farrell, Girl Scout Troop #4772. I wanted to get my award, but I also love babies and I get to help others. That makes me feel really good.”

“The ICARE Foundation had always planned to have a baby shower and when the opportunity to partner with Olivia was presented to us, we were more than excited. Our primary goal is to provide assistance to the hospital, and what better way to do that than by showing care and compassion to our community? One of the events we organize for this purpose is the first baby shower. Seeing the expression on the mom’s faces, so happy and appreciative, let me know that we definitely made an impact and that is a recipe for success!” says Nancy Leghart, Executive Director of St. John’s ICARE Foundation.

St. John’s is committed to providing expectant parents with a safe, high-quality experience for routine and high-risk deliveries in a comfortable setting close to home. Included are prenatal care on the St. John’s campus or at nearby satellite offices, parenting and childbirth classes, modern labor and delivery suites, and newborn and neonatal intensive care nurseries as well as an on-site lactation consultant and no-cost Doula services.