6
QUEENS WEEKLY, APRIL 14, 2019
Jamaica entrepreneur
recognized for success
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Elmhurst hopsital earns
a ‘baby-friendly’ honor
BY MAX PARROTT
Elmhurst Hospital won
recognition for its infant
care program on Friday.
The World Health Organization
(WHO) and the
United Nations Children’s
Fund awarded NYC Health
+ Hospitals/Elmhurst Baby
Friendly status, a designation
conferred by the WHO’s
initiative to encourage
breastfeeding, regulations
on breast milk substitute
and early mother-infant
bonding.
“This designation is an
attestation to the exemplary
level of care we provide to our
patients in Maternal Child
Health. The practices are evidence
based, which will lead
to improved outcomes for our
mothers and babies,” said Dr.
Jennifer Pintiliano, the NYC
Health + Hospitals associate
director of pediatrics.
In 2018, 2,327 babies were
born at the hospital. Of
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the babies born in its new
mother/baby unit last year,
approximately 96% initiated
breastfeeding immediately
following delivery. The
unit also features 15 private
rooms for infants to room in,
allowing for a bonding opportunity
between mother
and child.
The designation means
that the hospital’s maternity
unit complies with UNICEF’s
global program to encourage
successful breastfeeding
techniques and the International
Code of Marketing of
Breast-milk Substitutes. Currently
there are 561 hospitals
and birth centers that hold
this designation in the U.S.
UNICEF’s baby-friendly
program maintains that human
milk fed through direct
breastfeeding is the best way
for infants to be nourished.
The breastfeeding program
promotes a hospital-wide
breastfeeding policy, training
for staff, encouragement
for mothers to initiate breastfeeding
within one hour of
birth and the infrastructure
to allow mothers and infants
to remain together 24 hours
a day.
The program also enforces
the International
Code of Marketing of
Breast-Milk Substitutes,
which prevents hospitals
from advertising baby formula
or accepting free or
low-cost infant formula.
“I could not be prouder
of NYC Health and Hospital
Elmhurst and applaud this
wonderful achievement,”
Assemblywoman Catalina
Cruz said. “Our district
and it’s residents deserve
quality medical care, and
NYC Health and Hospitals
Elmhurst is here to deliver
(literally!).”
The hospital will have a
chance to earn a re-designation
of this award after a rigorous
on-site survey is completed
after five years.
BY BILL PARRY
Growing up in south
Jamaica, Dawn Kelly always
dreamed of owning
her grandfather’s house
and years later after a successful
career doing public
relations for a financial
services firm she was able
to buy the home.
“It meant so much to
me because my grandfather
was the first one in
my family to actually own
a home so it was very, very
special to me,” Kelly said.
Her career came to an
abrupt end in 2015 when
Kelly was told her position
was being eliminated.
“That sent me into a
tailspin. It absolutely devastated
me,” Kelly recalled.
“They called it retirement,
but I’m too young to retire
and I spent more than
two years of grieving and
praying, and after so many
failed interviews for other
job opportunities, I realized
I didn’t feel like putting
my life in another person’s
hands any longer.”
Kelly was sitting in her
living room watching a cable
news channel when she
saw a feature on a hip-hop
star who began his own
small business.
“I saw a story on that
rapper Styles P opening a
juice bar and that really
caught my fancy. I watched
that report intently and
I realized I had been juicing
for two years to lose
weight. After I lost my job
I went from a size 8 to 14 so
I started my own health
regimen.”
Kelly is also a fan of
posting on Instagram.
“I used to Instagram
all of my juices, so in my
phone I had photos of not
just the juices but different
menus and price charts of
the juice bars I went to,”
Kelly said. “Then I started
taking different entrepreneurship
classes. New
York is chock full of these
programs and all you have
to do is look for them.”
In 2016, Kelly discovered
a storefront was
available just around the
corner from her home.
“I’ll never forget. It was
DK Upholstery, those are
my initials and now it’s my
store,” she said.
After failing to be profitable
in 2017 when it first
opened, The Nourish Spot
turned a profit in 2018.
Friends had tried to discourage
Kelly from starting
her own company, fearing
that the neighborhood
would not support a health
food business, but she followed
her dream and is
proving that her creative
leadership and unique idea
can make the business a
success. The Nourish Spot
offers a selection of natural
fruit and vegetable juices,
smoothies, salads, soups
and sandwich wraps.
Earlier this month,
Kelly’s store The Nour-
NYC Health Hospitals/Elmhurst’s “baby-friendly” team of physicians, nurses, and other
healthcare providers.
SBA District Director Beth Goldberg (l.) honors Dawn Kelly
as 2019 Microbusiness Person of the Year at her Jamaica
company. Courtesy of Dawn Kelly
Continued on Page 14
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