4 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 17, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Forest Hills Catholic academy presents bilingual live
wax museum highlighting infl uential Hispanic fi gures
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Fourth grade students at
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic
Academy in Forest Hills presented
a live bilingual wax
museum on Friday, Feb. 4, as
they concluded their celebration
of Catholic Schools Week.
Academy students and parents
had the opportunity to
tour the student-created museum
that featured 22 infl uential
fi gures from the past and present
that come from Hispanic
countries. Th ose fi gures included
former baseball player Alex
Rodriguez, the “Queen of Salsa”
Celia Cruz, singer Bruno Mars,
politician and activist Evita
Peron, U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Sonia Sotomayor and
famed artist Pablo Picasso.
As part of the Catholic
Schools Week special project,
students studied the lives
of these famed fi gures, created
costumes and prepared special
presentation boards to be featured
in the museum.
Bayside children’s hospital receives largest donation in its history
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A children’s hospital in Bayside,
which has served the northeast
Queens community for more
than 150 years, has received the
largest gift in the organization’s
history.
St. Mary’s Healthcare System
for Children announced Monday
a $20 million donation from
Cindy S. Johnson that will help
ensure the fi nancial stability
for St. Mary’s and accelerate
the launch of innovative programs,
including remote services
delivery.
St. Mary’s provides a continuum
of care to children with
medically complex conditions
through its in-patient hospital
facility in Bayside, as well as
home care services and community
programs. It is the only provider
of rehabilitative and longterm
care for children in New
York City.
“Th e families of St. Mary’s will
never forget this incredibly generous
gift from Cindy Johnson.
Her support through the years
has been transformative for these
children as they face and overcome
tremendous obstacles,”
said Dr. Edwin Simpser, president
and CEO of St. Mary’s
Healthcare System for Children.
“Th is donation will allow us to
expand our innovative programs
and continue to fund remote
service delivery, which has truly
saved lives during the pandemic.”
Johnson is the co-chair of the
Board of Directors at St. Mary’s
and has served as a dedicated
member of the Board for more
than 20 years. She and her husband,
Tod, established The
Cindy and Tod Johnson Center
for Pediatric Feeding Disorders
and have supported the launch
of a range of critical initiatives.
Her leadership at St. Mary’s has
included spearheading eff orts
to bring a state-of-the-art new
building to the hospital’s Bayside
campus and guiding St. Mary’s
through key restructuring activities
and a rapidly changing
healthcare landscape.
“Th ere is simply no place like
St. Mary’s. For families with
medically complex children, it
is a safe haven and beacon of
hope,” Johnson said. “I’m proud
to be able to provide this support
so the organization can help
even more of New York’s children.
Th is gift will give the talented
professionals at St. Mary’s
the freedom to design a better
model of care for reaching those
who need help the most.”
Remote services delivery during
the peak of the pandemic
allowed children to receive
therapy from their homes but
St. Mary’s needs resources in
order to continue off ering those
services beyond the pandemic.
Off ering remote options is
also key for healthcare equity
because it opens doors to families
who would otherwise face
socioeconomic barriers to getting
their children the treatment
they need. More than 90 percent
of the patients at St. Mary’s need
a level of care that exceeds while
their families can aff ord and
what Medicaid is able to cover.
Philanthropic support is vital
for helping St. Mary’s change
the lives of children and their
families.
St. Mary’s Healthcare System
for Children has been the primary
provider of long-term and
rehabilitative care for New York’s
most critically ill and injured
children since the 1870s. It is
one of a handful of organizations
around the country that is
dedicated to providing intensive
rehabilitation, specialized care,
and education to children with
special needs and life-limiting
conditions.
Photo courtesy of Diocese of Brooklyn
A student dressed up as singer Bruno Mars.
Courtesy of St. Mary’s
St. Mary’s Healthcare System in Bayside has received a $20 million dollar donation, the largest gift in the organization’s
150-year history.
Th e students posed and waited
until visitors pushed the red
button. Th en they came alive
and relayed important facts
about their lives in both English
and Spanish.
Dana McCann, principal of
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic
Academy, said the exhibit showcased
who they are as a school
community, with a group
eff ort of parents, teachers and
students.
“Th e students were able to
utilize their research and public
speaking skills to make these
fi gures come to life. Th e students
were so proud, and so
was I, in what we accomplished
today,” McCann said.
Sandra Paz, who teaches
Spanish at the academy, said
the project helped students
understand the real-world
connection, that Spanish is not
just a vocabulary list in a classroom.
“With this experience, our
students learned that anyone
from any part of the world can
aspire to be a teacher in their
fi eld,” Paz said.
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