St. John’s Opens New Labor and Delivery Suite

By Dan Guarino

On Thursday, July 31, St. John’s Episcopal Hospital hosted a very grand opening for its new Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum (LDRP) unit. A huge crowd of visitors, staff, VIPs, elected officials, community members and leaders from all across Rockaway and even neighboring Nassau County, came out for the hospital’s newest addition’s ribbon cutting, a project 12 years in the making.

The all-brand-new unit is located on the ninth floor of the hospital on Beach 19th Street in Far Rockaway. Its pristine design includes six spacious private suites, large enough to comfortably accommodate new moms and up to three babies. There is also room for overnight accommodations for family members or support persons, plus extra-large spa-like bathrooms. There are several nurses’ stations, specialized monitoring and care equipment, a triage area, and two very large state of the art dedicated surgery and delivery operating rooms. Plus, accommodations for round the clock staff.

Episcopal Health Services (EHS) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Chairperson Dr. Jacqueline Marecheau MD recently explained to the Five Towns’ LI Herald, “This design allows patients to spend their entire hospital stay in a single room, providing enhanced comfort, privacy and continuing of care throughout their birthing experience.” It is expected to officially go operational on August 18.

With patient rooms looking out over ocean views, the new LDRP provides upgraded technology, a family-centered design and enhanced infection prevention infrastructure. EHS states it also offers “complimentary doula services, high-risk pregnancy care, lactation consultation, breastfeeding classes, newborn hearing screening, and early bonding support.”

A doula, a trained professional, provides physical, emotional and informational support before, during and shortly after childbirth.

EHS notes nationwide about 22 women per 100,000 die each year from pregnancy-related causes. More than 50,000 experience severe pregnancy-related complications.

Ceremonies for the LDRP’s ribbon-cutting were held in a huge white tent set up in the parking lot of St. John’s Clinical Learning Center, across from the main hospital building. Starting at 11 a.m., several hundred people filled the space beyond standing room only, while upright cooling units worked to beat back hot, humid air. A string quartet provided music, while small gifts, colorful information folders and bottled water were given out. Gourmet refreshments were provided by the hospital’s food services division.

EHS Vice President of External Affairs Lisa Chase-Hernandez welcomed all to the ceremony, stating the new LDRP “represents a major investment in community health.”

In turn, she introduced speakers Bishop Lawrence Provenzano, EHS President and Board of Trustees Chairman and Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, EHS CEO Dr. Donald Morrish MD, Dr. Jacqueline Marecheau, Congressman Gregory Meeks, NYS Senator James Sanders, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, NYS Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

Bishop Provenzano, who noted he is stepping down from his EHS and Diocesan posts in late 2026, recalled the long struggle to bring this type of care to the peninsula. Though originally told by his board, “We have to get rid of labor and delivery. It’s too litigious,” he stated, “In the 16 years I have been here, I vowed we would never jettison labor and delivery (care.) Today is a wonderful fulfillment of that mission. Maternity is finally home.”

Though a ceremonial groundbreaking took place in May 2024, Dr. Morrish noted the push for the new unit “started back 12 years ago with then Queens Borough President Melinda Katz starting seed funds” for the project. That was later carried through with incoming Borough President Richards. Morrish thanked Meeks, Sanders and Amato, along with Richards and Katz and the Rockaway community, for their financial support so “that the future generations of Rockaway will be born here in Rockaway.”

Dr. Marecheau further thanked her staff for making it possible for her to step away from day-to-day clinical duties to oversee finalization of the LDRP unit.

“This is a big day,” Congressman Meeks explained. “And that’s why you see the community come out in such great numbers.”

Noting the strides St. John’s itself has made, Meeks said, “What I hear from members of my communities is not what I heard 20 years ago. What I hear is ‘Thank God we have such good care in our community!’”

“This is a labor of love for everyone,” BP Richards said. “This is more than an addition to the hospital, more than an addition to a family. It is about a correction,” he noted, pointing the critical underserving of Far Rockaway. Along with St. John’s new maternity unit, he noted expansion of the Addabbo Family Health Center and an NYC Health & Hospitals initiative now in the works.

Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato framed the opening as an investment in women’s health. More than that, she said, “you’ve taken an investment to listen to what we want.”  About St. John’s Hospital, she said, “If I ever need (medical care), I’m happy I’ll be coming here!”

Queens DA Katz asked why should anyone “have to go over a bridge or under a tunnel to get good labor and delivery care? If you’re born and can get only care that way, that starts you at a disadvantage.”

At the end of the presentations, visitors were led in small groups to tour the new facility. Staff and VIPS also cheerfully assembled for several ceremonial ribbon cuttings and photo opportunities in the unit’s lobby.

Ericka Young, now expecting her second child, and one of St. John’s patients, said, “I think the unit is beautiful. Everything is so clean and new. The staff is wonderful.” She also had high praise for her doula, who “is always available.” A nurse of 13 years, she was so impressed with the new LDRP, she stated, “I plan on getting a job here!”

With the opening of the new Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum unit, Episcopal Health Services hopes to greatly improve health outcomes for pregnant women and their babies.

As the mission statement plaque, written by Dr. Marecheau and Devena Sallah RN, that greets all visitors says, “We walk alongside each family as they step into parenthood.”

Photos by Dan Guarino.