A strong connection
Floating Hospital President Sean T. Granahan recently joined Josh Schneps on the Schneps Connects podcast. Schneps Media has several print publications based in Queens, where The Floating Hospital’s main clinic is located, and Schneps is the company’s co-publisher.
Granahan discusses his background in law and how it led him to The Floating Hospital, which is marking its 160th anniversary this year. He traces the organization’s mission back to its founding: supporting families in need with healthcare, health education, and relief such as “food, clothes, diapers—whatever families need when they walk in the door.”
That mission hasn’t wavered, he notes, even as the organization moved from a primarily sea-based operation to a series of land-based clinics in 2001. After standing by to offer aid and medical supplies in the aftermath of September 11, Granahan explains that The Floating Hospital lost its mooring when the area around the South Street Seaport became, in his words, “a means of taking debris out and bringing new building materials in.” There was a brief interval at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but ultimately the barge, the Lila Acheson Wallace, was sold and sent Upstate to Kingston, New York.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Granahan discusses the current family homelessness crisis in New York City, how The Floating Hospital is uniquely equipped to address the needs of those families, our history and its continuity to the present, and whether the barge might one day sail again.
Interns among us
The Floating Hospital internship program will launch again this summer on July 6. The program provides opportunities to high school and college students from our community and the families we serve to gain marketable skills while adapting to a professional environment.
This year, 16 to 18 interns will participate in our six-week program through August 15. They will be placed throughout the clinic to support administrative work in various departments as they become familiar with public speaking, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, database management, referral source verification, and other skills. On mornings, before they go to their assignments, they gather for an hour in the community center to set and assess goals, learn mindfulness techniques, discuss world events, and take part in other activities to build healthy habits and professional behavior.
On July 21, they will visit the United Nations to learn about global humanitarian issues, world peace, and hunger. Other highlights include assisting Joan Brancaccio, our volunteer manager, with the Story Time program she has developed to bring free books and readings into the shelters we serve, and canvasing the Long Island City community to promote our healthcare services and pharmacy.
According to Cynthia Davis, director of community outreach and the organizer of the program, “the highlight we are all looking forward to is their final presentations on August 11th, where family, friends and staff will hear about their experiences.”
The team is set!
We can now announce the full 2026 Floating Hospital Waverunners team members, who will run the TCS New York City Marathon to raise critical funds for our “more than healthcare” programs. Two runners, Wakim Andre and Ashley Sandberg, will return this year. They will be joined by six others: Santiago Caceres, Estime Dieuveille, Aidan Rodgers, Megan Sartor, Joanna Smykowski, and Jared Staph.
We will have full biographical information in a future article, but they are already off to a great start. You can support their races and their fundraising efforts for us here:
A healthy ‘Puberty Night’
The Floating Hospital’s health education department presented a “Puberty Night” on June 11. The evening, offered at intervals throughout the year, is designed as a “conversation starter” for topics that are sometimes uncomfortable for parents to address.
There were discussions of the physical, mental, and emotional changes that occur during puberty with a question-and-answer session, a trivia game with prizes, and dinner. The program was presented in both English and Spanish versions.
