Brooklyn girl is Mercy’s first baby

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Mercy Medical Center workers delivered Michelle De La Cruz, the hospital’s first baby of the year, at 11:31 a.m. on Jan. 1.

The six-pound, twelve-ounce girl was born healthy and well, and is the first child of Michael and Stephanie De La Cruz of Brooklyn.

Mercy estimates that more than 1,200 births will occur at the hospital in the next twelve months. Some 300 of those babies will likely be premature or sickly infants, and will receive care in the hospital’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the only facility on Nassau County’s South Shore to receive such a designation from the state.

The parents of all Mercy newborns are allowed to commemorate the care they and their infants received at the hospital on the “Newborn Wall of Celebration,” which decorates a wall outside the NICU and the newborn nursery and prominently features a rainbow motif, symbolizing hope, renewal and community.

Parents of any babies born at Mercy over the years can place a small plaque with their child’s name and date of birth as a demonstration of gratitude for the work of Mercy physicians, nurses and staff who nurtured and cared for their children in their first days of life. Those wishing to donate should contact Mercy’s Development Office at 516-705-2620. Proceeds will specifically benefit the hospital’s maternal child services.