Far Rockaway, NY – New York State Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato joined doctors, nurses and administrators at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital to deliver a $500,000 check to create the new Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum Unit. St. John’s, the only hospital throughout the Rockaway Peninsula, has gone through a massive retooling in recent years, including building a new women’s health center in Rockaway Park, a new oncology building, a modernized emergency room, and a new state-of-the-art educational learning center for medical staff. The hospital will provide new and expanded forms of maternal healthcare: from OBGYN services to labor and delivery options on the Peninsula. All of this to ensure women do not need to travel outside their community to get quality care.

“This is for the women of Rockaway,” said Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato. The Assemblywoman, who was born at St. John’s Hospital (back when it was named St. Joseph’s Hospital) has emphasized the need for this type of healthcare. “Women should not have to leave their community to see an OBGYN, to receive top-notch maternal healthcare, to give birth in a state-of-the-art environment - and through St. John’s effort to build this unit, they won’t need to! It’s my honor to be allocating State funding to build up this unit and address the needs of our community. Together, we are bringing the healthcare we deserve to this Peninsula,” the Assemblywoman said to a packed audience as she presented the check.

“We are incredibly grateful to NYS Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato for her ongoing support of Episcopal Health Services (EHS), and the construction of the St. John’s Episcopal Hospital’s new state-of-the-art Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum unit,” said Donald T. Morrish, MD, MMM, Chief Executive Officer Episcopal Health Services. “This generous contribution will significantly bolster EHS’ ongoing efforts to enhance women’s healthcare services and address the critical needs on the Rockaway Peninsula and beyond. Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato has been a faithful supporter of EHS and we are truly appreciative of her long-lasting commitment to us and the community at large.” 

During her tenure in office, Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato has been known as a champion for women’s health and working on ways to empower women. This has included ensuring that all feminine hygiene products continue to be tax exempt and guaranteeing insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings. On top of that, the Assemblywoman passed a law that made New York the first State in the country to ensure any and all types of post-mastectomy surgeries, whether that be reconstructive surgery or aesthetic flat closure, were covered by insurance - giving women full autonomy to their chest. Pheffer Amato has continued to work to safeguard women’s reproductive health, and this year shepherded the passage of a bill that will require insurance companies to cover and pay for prenatal vitamins.