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Babies ’r’ us! Coney Island Hospital natal nurses throw party for kids

Babies ’r’ us! Coney Island Hospital natal nurses throw party for kids
Photo by Steve Solomonson

Welcome back, babies!

Coney Island Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit held its first-ever tea party on June 5, bringing together the facility’s staff and the children they helped bring into the world.

Hospital spokesman Gregory Maizous said the event was the vision of head nurse Kathleen Marino, who was curious to find out what became of the ill and premature infants her division had cared for over the years. Marino pushed for the celebration for nearly a year, according to Maizous.

“Little by little, she convinced everybody,” Maizous said. “All the nurses wanted to see how the kids came out.”

So the hospital sent out invitations, and more than a dozen families came to the center to once again see the medical team that nursed the children to health in their first weeks of life. Maizous said the gathering was warm and joyful.

“It was like a family reunion,” he said.

The nurses even claimed to recognize several of kids — aging from less than a year old to 16 — who came. The families and staff shared stories of birth and endurance.

“Everything was done with love, and you could really feel that,” Maizous said.

Reach reporter Will Bredderman at wbredderman@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4507. Follow him at twitter.com/WillBredderman.

Happy family: Erica Fortunato and her 17-month-old daughter Chloe showed off their smiles at the celebration held for families of children born at Coney Island Hospital.
Photo by Steve Solomonson