The Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center celebrated its 25th anniversary Sept. 24 at a reception held at its new Yonkers location.
The celebration included a singing performance by Stephanie Rimpel, a former patient. Marie Rimpel, Stephanie”™s mother, said the center helped save her daughter”™s life.
“This was a second home for my child,” Marie Rimpel said. “I d
on”™t think I”™d be able to endure through my daughter”™s surgeries without the support I had from everybody here.”
Stephanie just started attending White Plains High School this year as her health has improved. She still receives regular home visits from a nurse from the center.
Elizabeth Seton, which moved from a 95,000-square-foot space in Manhattan to a 165,000-square-foot building Yonkers last year, accommodates 137 children and their families.
There are no more than four beds per room, and there are four floors divided into a combination of single, double, triple and quadruple rooms. The four-bedded rooms are shaped like a four-leaf clover with privacy provided by a dropdown canopy. Each room contains a pantry and cabinet to store the children”™s personal belongings.
“When we first designed the shape of the building, we knew every kid needed to have a window,” said David Schunter, preconstruction manager at Andron Construction Corp., the company that designed the new building for Elizabeth Seton.
The center has five terraces outside with two large playgrounds. They even have a pizza garden that grows ingredients that would go on a pizza including tomatoes and basil. Kids have access to the outdoors with a sidewalk that wraps around the entire building.
Many kids at the center have respiratory problems, which was addressed by bringing in an air purifier that exchanges air six times a day.
During the day, children attend classes that are tailored to their learning development.
The planning board of Yonkers was supportive of the pediatric center”™s move into its city, said Nancy Bullock, chief operating officer of Elizabeth Seton.
“The AFL-CIO, the Department of Health, New York state and HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) all got behind it,” Bullock said. “We started during a difficult time in the economy, but each group supported us. Mortgage bonds were sold into the market, and the AFC-CIO purchased them all. Their pension fund bought it, and HUD ensures the mortgage will be paid back.”
The construction for the new building created a peak of 150 jobs in Westchester, Schunter said.
