Cornwall Girl Scout Project Assists Elaine Kaplan Neonatal Intensive Care Institute
Kate Dabroski, SLCH Vice President of Marketing, Public and Community Relations, Kathryn Elias, Clinical Nurse Manager of the SLCH Birthing Center and NICU, Emily Cucci, Cornwall student and Girl Scout, Jeanne Boydston, Director of the SLCH Birthing Center and NICU and Margaret Deyo Allers, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services
Newburgh, NY – Emily Cucci, 16, of Cornwall, NY, recently completed her Girl Scout Gold Award project, benefiting Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall (MSLC) youngest patients. Her effort, titled “Swaddled with Love,” resulted in 120 knitted and crocheted blankets and hats for babies in MSLC’s Elaine Kaplan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Emily recruited and organized a team of 70 volunteers from the Cornwall community that dedicated more than 86 hours to complete the project. In addition to making the items that were donated, she was able to secure donations from both individuals and local business to cover the cost of materials.
One of the groups who worked on the project, the Country Quilters Guild, has agreed to sustain the effort through their own community service efforts.
“My project was about bringing love and joy to not only the babies born into the NICU, but also to their parents,” Emily said. “It is an incredibly stressful time for a baby to be in the NICU. I hope that providing them with a hat and a blanket to swaddle them in, gave a moment of joy to all.”
Swaddled with Love was the latest in Emily’s efforts at volunteerism. Along with her fellow troop members from Cornwall, she has helped decorate the Christmas trees on both MSLC’s Newburgh and Cornwall campuses.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award available in Girl Scouts. Open only to girls in high school, it is considered the most prestigious and most difficult award to earn. The award requires a project designed at solving a problem at the local, national or global level. The seven steps involved include identifying an issue, investigating it thoroughly, getting help and building a team, creating a plan, presenting the plan and gathering feedback, taking action, and educating and inspiring by sharing the results.
About St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital
Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall (MSLC) is a not-for-profit community hospital with campuses in Newburgh and Cornwall, NY. The hospital is dedicated to serving the health care needs of the Hudson Valley and has achieved excellence in the delivery of compassionate and comprehensive health care services. The Joint Commission noted MSLC for excellence in Key Quality Measures in the management of Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Stroke and Surgical Care. MSLC is also recognized as an industry leader in using information technology to improve patient care, by winning the Most Wired Award for the fourth year in a row. In January 2018, MSLC officially became part of the Montefiore Health System to strengthen the delivery of health care locally and enhance access to exceptional specialty care for Hudson Valley residents.
