1. History
     Maria's Wish  

2. Facilities

3. Pediatric Specialties

4. References

5. External links

Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), is the advanced care pediatric hospital for New York's Hudson Valley region and Fairfield County, Connecticut. Maria Fareri Children's Hospital is part of the Valhalla, NY campus of WMCHealth along with Westchester Medical Center and the Behavioral Health Center. It is home to hundreds of clinical and surgical pediatric specialists in almost every medical field. The hospital treats about 20,000^[1] patients each year. Maria Fareri Children's Hospital operates under a “family-centered care” approach to treating children. This philosophy involves parents, siblings and family members in every step of a child's treatment, and is provided in a building designed specifically from the point of view of children and their families.

As part of Westchester Medical Center Health Network, an academic health affiliate of New York Medical College, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital is also a major teaching facility. The staff is involved in research, developing tomorrow's treatments and in training the children's health care providers of tomorrow in the arts and sciences of pediatric medical care.

History

Maria's Wish

Maria Fareri Children's Hospital was built through the efforts of hundreds of parents, medical professionals, and community leaders, including Brenda and John Fareri who lost their 13-year-old daughter, Maria, to rabies in 1995. After Maria died, her parents learned that Maria had made a special wish as part of a school project - for the health and well-being of all the children in the world. Guided by Maria's wish, the Fareri family helped lead the design and creation of Maria Fareri Children's Hospital as a “family-centered” hospital. It is the only hospital in the United States named after a child.^[2]

Facilities

Maria Fareri Children's Hospital offers a unique physical environment centered on the hospital's philosophy of “family-centered” care. The state-of-the-art facility includes a Regional Trauma Center and is designed to accommodate the special needs of pediatric patients and their families. Other notable features include:

• Pediatric Intensive Care private rooms with separate waiting and support facilities.
• Single patient rooms, each with parent sleep/shower facilities.
• Pediatric operating suites and pre- and post-recovery areas, as well as a pre-operative learning program.
• A Family Resource Center where parents, school children and support groups can meet, conduct research about health-related issues, and communicate with family and friends.
• Age-specific “neighborhoods,” each with its own theme and décor.
• Nutrition centers containing juice and snacks located in each neighborhood.
• A Lion's Den.^[3] laden with the latest technology so children can play games, socialize and interact with friends and family around the world.

• A unique lobby providing diversions for children and families, including the world's largest doll-house, a New York Baseball Museum, a performing arts stage and a walk-through aquarium.
• A Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy program featuring multiple playrooms, an art studio, and art and music therapy programs. The overall program is available to all Maria Fareri Children's Hospital patients and their families to help them cope with illness and hospitalization more effectively.
• The only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in the Hudson Valley region and only pediatric burn care center.
• The only Level IV (most sophisticated) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the region.
• Headquarters for the Regional Perinatal Center for the lower Hudson Valley region.
• One of only five American Lung Association sponsored Pediatric Asthma Clinical Research Centers in the United States.
• The Region's only Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization Program including comprehensive pediatric inpatient and outpatient cardiology services and pediatric cardiothoracic surgery team.
• A Specialized Pediatric Hematology/Oncology center offering dedicated programs in bone marrow transplant and experimental chemotherapy, along with the most advanced therapies for sickle cell diseases, thalassemia and other hematological disorders.
• The only Comprehensive Advanced Pediatric Surgical Center in the region and a dedicated Children's Minimally Invasive Surgery Center.
• The only Pediatric Organ Transplant Center in the region.
• The only Level 1 (highest level) Trauma Center in the Hudson Valley region with Medevac Helicopter and Mobile Intensive Care Ground Transport.
• One of the seven New York State designated Children's Metabolic Disease Centers.
• The only comprehensive Children's Health Research and Children's Healthcare Training Center in the lower Hudson Valley studying new ways to treat today's problems and train tomorrow's pediatricians.

Pediatric Specialties

MFCH offers advanced healthcare in the following specialties:

References

External links

• Maria Fareri Children's Hospital
• Westchester Medical Center

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