DeCicco & Sons Accepting Donations for Maria Fareri RNICU expansion

VALHALLA, N.Y. (May 4, 2022) – Now through May 17 DeCicco & Sons stores are accepting donations from the public to support the expansion of the Isaac and Naomi Kaplan Family Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (RNICU) at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth).

The RNICU at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is a vital resource for families as it cares for the most acutely ill newborns, including extreme low-birth-weight babies as well as full-term babies with congenital disorders and rare diseases. The RNICU is the only center of its kind based in New York’s Hudson Valley region and as such, more than 700 critical-care cases are transferred or admitted to the RNICU annually.

Demand for advanced neonatal services at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital continues to grow and the expansion will add eight neonatal care areas to the RNICU, bringing its licensed bed count to 57. The expansion is a critical need that will enable the RNICU to care for more babies while maximizing safety, operational efficiency, and family comfort.

“The RNICU is the only resource providing this level of advanced neonatal care in the Hudson Valley. DeCiccos & Sons is widely known for its support of charitable organizations in the

community, and WMCHealth is fortunate to be among them,” said Michael Gewitz, MD, the William Russell McCurdy Physician-in-Chief of Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital.

DeCicco’s & Sons started as a tiny storefront in the Bronx in 1973 and today has 10 store locations in Westchester and Putnam Counties. It has become the food market of choice for those with a love for food and cooking. Each year, the DeCicco family puts thousands of dollars back into the community through charities and local groups.

Those interested in supporting the campaign for an expanded and enhanced RNICU at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital can do so by visiting Give.WMCHealth.org/NICU40

or contacting the Westchester Medical Center Foundation at 914.493.2575 or foundation@wmchealth.org.

About Westchester Medical Center Health Network

The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with 10 hospitals on eight campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 12,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. From Level 1, Level 2 and Pediatric Trauma Centers, the region’s only acute care children’s hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, homecare services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State, today WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated healthcare in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow our network on Facebook and Instagram.

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