News + Events/March 2025
We’ve got the power!
On February 27, Schneps Media honored two Floating Hospital stars, Linda You and Dr. Meghan Miller, as Power Women of Queens. A dinner to mark the occasion was MCed by Monica Morales, an Emmy Award Winning Reporter at PIX11 and longtime supporter and friend of The Floating Hospital, and took place at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach.
Inspiring raffle sales that raised about $4,200 for Camp Rise Up, were Jennyfer Uriarte Olivas, José Miranda, Tai Govantes, Angelica Diaz, and Christiana Kallon, among other staff. Also in attendance were Shani Andre, Cynthia Davis, Florence Eng, Lyndon Felder and Barbara LaPlaca.
Schneps Media is the publisher of the Queens Courier, Bayside Times, Jamaica Times, Flushing Times, Times Ledger, BORO, QNS, QueensPost, Noticia, Caribbean Life and amnyMetro as well as many other papers and magazines in New York City and Long Island.
They Stopped & Shopped
February may be the shortest month, but it was a month of great impact for The Floating Hospital thanks to the Stop & Shop Community Bag Program. From just one store in Maspeth, Queens, we received a donation of $1,723, which represents a dollar earned from each reusable bag sold last month.
We are beyond thrilled and grateful for the generosity of the store and the corporation for having this program, which has generated a total of $3.24 million in funds for 7,407 nonprofits, and choosing us to be a community partner. While the bags help save the environment, the money raised from their sale will help provide care and comfort to New York City’s most vulnerable families.
Celebrating history, hearts and more
Our education department was busy in February marking both Black History Month and Heart Health Month.
On Mondays, the health educators focused on a different historical figure from Black History with coloring sheets, biographies, a timeline, matching game, trivia regarding Black Hispanic icons and music trivia about popular Black artists. On Tuesdays, they hosted Heart Health days with physical activities such as jump rope, hula hoops and hopscotch as well as themed bingo and songs.
In addition, they found time last month to celebrate Valentine’s Day, while also observing World Read Aloud Day and Give a Kid a Smile Day, all with special activities and crafts as well as giveaways.
Journey and SOAR
Last year, Camp Rise Up expanded its reach to our Spanish-speaking patients, aged 12 to 15. This year, we’re going even further, presenting some similar but age-appropriate material to our English-speaking patients aged 10 to 11.
SOAR, which stands for Support, Optimism, Acceptance, and Resilience, is our first weeklong day camp for Spanish-speaking teens. The goal is to prepare them for Camp Rise Up, our leadership and life skills sleep-away camp for kids living in temporary housing. Many of our current patients and their families speak only Spanish, and CRU is conducted in English.
The day campers at SOAR learned the same material as the first year of CRU with a fully translated camper manual and companion teaching guide. In the afternoons, they engaged in a variety of fun physical and educational activities. We hope that after this introductory year of camp their English fluency will improve, and they will be able to participate in year two at CRU in Rhinebeck, New York. A new video summarizing the experience has been released at our YouTube channel.
Journey will be held in early July and will provide five lessons over three days with activities planned for the afternoons. The experience is designed as an introduction to CRU, and a natural feeder into the sleep-away camp model, acclimating the students into the camp’s format and lesson plans.
Wait and see
Patients in our waiting areas now have something to look at other than their phones. Our waiting room informational program, designed by Foundry 360 in consultation with our providers, educational and communications staff, is up and running with important guidance regarding our programs, physical and mental health, and healthy habits, plus trivia, mindfulness tips, health quizzes and life-skill themed pieces.
As they wait to be seen, patients can learn how to craft a budget, defuse family fights, address picky eaters, start a job search, relieve seasonal allergies, feel more confident, lower stress, get stronger, gauge proper portion sizes, practice subway safety, prevent SIDS and so much more.
A blend of engaging slides and lively custom and licensed short and long-form videos, the presentation also contains privacy notices and announcements about Floating Hospital offerings and departments, such as various Camp Rise Up programs, the Doula Initiative, health education and the dental clinic. It’s so fun and enlightening, anyone would benefit from taking a few minutes out to sit down and take it in (although you might be told that standing is better for your health).
Foundry 360 is a content creation division of Dotdash Meredith, whose publications include People, InStyle, Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine and Real Simple, among many others. It also has a number of online health and wellness titles, each with a specific focus on medical, behavioral, cognitive, parenting and fitness topics.
Show us some spirit
Although the winter months were cold and gray outside, our clinic was warm with spirit and community.
During the last days of January, we celebrated Spirit Week with five days of zany or themed attire. The brain child of Dr. Meghan Miller and the health education department, the goal was to bring a smile to weary faces and learn a bit more about our colleagues. Monday was Crazy Hair and Socks Day, where wild hair styles and fun socks eased us into the week. On Tuesday, which was Culture Day, staff members were encouraged to wear something that celebrated their culture or background. On Wednesday, people went fanatic with clothes and paraphernalia from their favorite sports team. Thursday, they were asked to dress in the style of their favorite decade. And Friday was Dress to Impress Day, where everyone dug out their formal attire, from tuxedos to bridesmaids dresses and wedding gowns.
And when that week was over, they set their sights on February 14, when the annual employee potluck lunch adopted a Valentine’s Day theme. Covered dishes with recipes inspired by cuisines the world over filled the dinning room for a massive feast, enjoyed after all clinics and sites closed at noon. To burn off the food, the staff joined in a rousing karaoke contest that often erupted into singalongs on some favorite tunes, like I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys.
Jamaine Pearson and Linda You won first prize: $100 and a trophy. Steven Mirabile came in second with a $50 prize and Tai Govantes and Karina Cosme were given third prize of $25 and bragging rights.
Although it’s now officially spring, we’re already looking forward to next winter.
All’s well that ends well
One of our signature events, the spring Women’s Wellness Day, is scheduled for Saturday, May 17. It will be a day of health screenings, mammograms and pampering for our female patients, who can’t or don’t take time out to care for themselves.
The day’s focus is on health, personal care, education and relaxation. “Recognizing that stress is a common issue for many women and can lead to health problems over time, we believe combining health screenings with enjoyable activities, pampering, and interactive education is an excellent way to promote wellness in our community,” according to Sreeta Karl-Quintana, the director of clinic operations.
We will honor mothers and also welcome daughters, ages 9 and up, to teach them about the changes their bodies are about to go through and offer HPV vaccinations. Other medical services to be provided to adults will include breast exams, transvaginal sonograms and screenings for STIs and HPV, cervical cancer and fibroids.
You can help with volunteering, gifts supporting our free breakfast and lunch service or by purchasing items from our wishlist of giveaways including pampering personal care products, lingerie, and other goodies. For more information click on the buttons below.
Website upgrade
The Floating Hospital website has a new (and temporary) look. While we redesign and reconfigure a new permanent website, we have produced an interim site to bridge the gap. It is at the same address as our previous site, but has a new host and layout. The new site, which we hope will be completed by the end of the year, will also have the same address. Stay tuned for more developments.