St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, in Far Rockaway, has officially opened its new Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum unit, marking a milestone in maternal care for families on the Rockaway peninsula and in the neighboring Five Towns communities.
The hospital broke ground on the project in May 2024, aiming to improve patient experience and safety while creating a welcoming, high-quality environment for expecting mothers.
An early celebration with a ribbon-cutting took place July 31, with an official opening expected around Aug. 18. Last week, community members, staff and elected officials toured the facility, on the hospital’s ninth floor.
Donald T. Morrish, CEO of Episcopal Health Services, said that the unit has been a long time coming for the hospital. “Maternity is finally here,” he said. “All the blood, sweat and tears that went on during the 12 years of getting labor and delivery finally has come to fruition. … Episcopal Health Services is on a tremendous trajectory to provide high-quality care that is patient centered.”
The new unit features six 400-square-foot rooms designed for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum care, all equipped with private showers, allowing most patients to remain in a single room throughout their birth experience. The unit also includes two operating rooms for cesarean deliveries, two recovery rooms and four triage spaces, and the focus is on patient comfort and supporting high-risk pregnancies with specialized services for mothers and newborns.
Dr. Jacqueline Marecheau, chair of obstetrics and gynecology, said the project has personal meaning for her.
“This space is a sanctuary,” she said. “This space is a love letter to the community, and it is very deep and personal to me. I, too, had preeclampsia and postpartum depression, and so for me, I empathize with all the woman in this community, and I think that this community and the surrounding community deserves a beautiful space.”
The hospital has been raising money through its ICARE Foundation, hosting gala events and fundraisers. The hospital has also received grants from every level of government, including a $500,000 state grant made possible by Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato.
“Investing in women and our health is what this labor delivery unit is going to do for us in this community,” Amato said. “I was born in St. John’s.” turning to Morrish, she added, “Don, you talked about an antiquated hospital I’m sure it was the same (in) 1966: That investment was never made. For the Far Rockaway community, this is ours. This is all of us electeds listening to the community — we have listened to you loud and clear, and this hospital has done that.”
To build awareness of maternal care, the hospital has hosted giveaways offering diapers and baby supplies, wellness sign-ups and a Women’s Health Fair in May that included workshops and conversations with mothers-to-be.
In addition to the new space, the hospital launched a doula program and a centering model for maternal health education — initiatives aimed at reducing infant mortality, pre-term births and low birth weights.
Ericka Young, an expecting mother from Far Rockaway, said she was eager to deliver her baby at the new facility. “I think this new unit is important because they have technology here that they don’t have at other places,” Young said. “I think it’s important, because there’s only one hospital here, and you want to be somewhere where everything is new and clean and professional, and, again, you want to be somewhere were you have the right support, the right doctor, the right nurses. It is super important.”
