Elmhurst Hospital celebrated its 190th anniversary with a gala benefit beneath the blue whale at the Museum of Natural History.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
Elmhurst Hospital celebrated its 190th year of care during a benefit gala at the Museum of Natural History on Wednesday, Oct. 25, raising more than $1 million from more than 400 guests who gathered beneath the iconic 94-foot-long blue whale model. The tone of the hospital’s first in-person gala was a retrospective of the COVID-19 pandemic and the role played by Elmhurst Hospital that was overwhelmed by the first wave in March 2020.
“In a time when the world was terrorized by fear and the unknown, these frontline workers showed up day in and day out,” said Master of Ceremonies Jeff Glor, co-host of CBS Saturday Morning. “In real time we saw these frontline professionals joining forces to pioneer life-saving procedures that set treatment standards for hospitals across the country.”
Elmhurst Hospital became the epicenter of the public health crisis, at one point losing 13 patients in a 24-hour period that garnered national media attention while refrigerator trucks parked outside the hospital were transformed into makeshift morgues.
“While the media spotlight at Elmhurst faded, their struggle did not,” Glor said. “The hospital operated at a staggering 230% of their capacity for a full 18 months. It would take three years in total before patient levels returned to normal. Through all of this, Elmhurst Hospital workers answered the call.”
Dr. Helen Arteaga Landaverde, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst CEO, found herself in the emergency room battling COVID among her Corona neighbors during the first wave of the pandemic.
“When the world was dark for me and my family, the amazing team of Elmhurst-strong individuals, sparked life back into my soul,” she told the crowd. “And then, when I think I couldn’t be any happier, the opportunity to become the CEO of the hospital, the epicenter of…
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