A six-week summer adventure
On August 6, the 2025 class of Floating Hospital interns ended their program with all 19 giving unique summary presentations on their time with us in the form of slide decks, poems and group talks. An audience of Floating Hospital staff and parents enjoyed the program, which resembled a variety show or series of mini-Ted Talks.
Drawn from a diverse pool that included the New York City Summer Youth Employment Program, our staff’s families, and patients from family and domestic violence shelters, they helped in departments such as Community Outreach, Registration, Health Education, Referrals, Clinical Operations and Behavioral Health.
After morning check-ins, they were off to their assignments, earning money while they learned skills valuable to potential employers, such as administrative tasks, public speaking, database navigation and customer service.
Out in the community, they distributed updated healthcare materials — some 1,000 flyers. A meaningful highlight every year, Director of Community Outreach Cynthia Davis (who runs the intern program with Alma Cruz) took the group to Part of the Solution, a social services organization in the Bronx that runs a food bank to prepare meals for those who are hungry.
We are grateful to the Olive Garden in Times Square and Jersey Mike’s, which donated lunch on two special days for them. It was a great reward for all their hard work. The six weeks flew by and we will miss them!
Improving access
This month, the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) announced it had awarded an Improving Access to Care badge to The Floating Hospital based on last year’s reporting.
The honor is one of HRSA’s Community Health Quality Recognition badges and recognizes health centers that have made notable achievements in access to care. Improving access is a key part of our mission, operations and planning, and we are gratified to receive this recognition of our efforts in this area.
A race for health and hope
We are thrilled to participate as an official charity partner of the TCS New York City Marathon for a second year. On November 2, the five participants on our Waverunners team will hit the streets of the city with determination and purpose, running throughout the five boroughs as they raise money for our programs.
We have three returning runners and two new faces this year. Wakim Andre, Shannon Bennett and Ashley Sandberg, who ran for us and had successful fundraising drives are back and training. Abiola Oke and Lily Round will join us for the first time.
Andre is a marketing executive who lives in New Jersey and is married to our Chief Medical Officer, Shani Andre. Bennett is a physician assistant from Brooklyn. “As a health care provider, I truly understand the gaps in healthcare that The Floating Hospital works to fill,” she said last year. One of our foundation board members, Sandberg is a brand development and publicity professional who has worked with companies such as Paramount, NBC Universal, ABC and Warner Bros. Television Group.
Oke, who lives in New York City, is an entrepreneur from Nigeria who is also a philanthropist, film producer, advisor and inspirational speaker, among a few of his professional roles. He said he’s running for The Floating Hospital because our “mission to provide no-barrier health care for NYC families resonates deeply with my values of service, resilience, and community.” His website has more information and an extended bio.
Round, who is from Los Angeles, is a teacher in the Bay Area and with a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of California, Berkeley. After attending college in New York City, she focused on environmental advocacy and served as a volunteer health educator in the Bronx before returning to the West Coast. “I’m inspired by The Floating Hospital’s mission of providing medical services to those most in need… I see public education as a form of community activism and care, not dissimilar from the ethos of the work of the Hospital,” she said.
So nice, we’re doing it thrice
Who says Women’s Wellness Days happen only twice a year?
Just as Candy Cane Lane-inspired events “pop-up” in other locations at other times, Women’s Wellness, our day of health screenings and self-care, had its own mini pop-up event at our main clinic on July 24.
A Mammogram Bus sponsored by our longtime partner American-Italian Cancer Foundation was parked outside the clinic to offer screenings. Inside there were racks of pajamas and lingerie, gift bags of self-care items and other treats. Because everyday should be a Women’s Wellness Day!
We are grateful to AICF and the donors who made this mini-event possible.
Summertime is Story Time
This summer marked the official beginning of The Floating Hospital’s Story Time program. Joan Brancaccio, our foundation board chair, is bringing books and reading to adults and children in our main clinic and the shelters we serve such as Legacy in Brooklyn and Help Morris in the Bronx.
She has been placing books for patients to take home in the main clinic’s waiting area for the past few months. During their time with us, the summer interns read to our younger patients in the health education area and dental care reception as well.
The off-site program started at Legacy in July, while our interns were still with us, allowing them to participate. At the second event at Help Morris, Brancaccio was joined by Vice President of Communications Barbara LaPlaca, who read and helped distribute books, which the residents can keep.
Brancaccio has been collecting books for some time for this program and brings boxes and bags of books sorted by age — from babies to adults — to the shelters and main clinic depending on their needs. She has a network of donors, friends, family and others who have given her books for this purpose.
To donate or learn more, contact volunteer@thefloatinghospital.org and stay tuned for a future feature on this program.
Loukomi’s ‘Career Day’
On August 5, the Loukoumi Make A Difference Foundation came to The Floating Hospital with a group of students participating in Loukomi’s summer programs with The Greater Ridgewood Youth Council and New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. The Exploring Futures initiative is their collaboration to introduce “youth to potential career paths and real-world experiences,” according to Loukomi.
During the visit, Linda You, our director of clinical services, discussed opportunities in the medical profession, and there were several aspiring doctors and nurses in the group. “From understanding patient care to touring facilities and engaging with professionals, the day offered a unique window into the world of healthcare,” Loukomi said of the experience. The group then designed placemats to bring to homeless shelters.
Staff step challenge
Summer was a busy time for Floating Hospital staffers. In addition to all our regular duties, we were hitting the streets and hallways, making sure to get our steps in for the first Summer Strides Steps Competition, held from June 23 to August 15.
Tai Govantes was the winner of most steps, clocking 1.154 million steps. Aside from bragging rights, Tai also won $100. Rayson Jimenez also hit over 1 million steps and won the $100 consistency prize by logging the most days of 5,000 steps or more. The department that won the highest average step count was the Navigators with the addition of Secundino Diaz from Transportation, who was the only person in his department competing. They will enjoy a pizza party for their efforts. And the lucky winner of a $50 Target gift card drawn from those who kept up with their weekly records was Katherine Maqueda.
The Health Education department, which organized the event, announced that two additional employees made it over the million-step mark. They are Tania Barbecho and Armando Rodriguez. Each received a surprise $25 gift card from Starbucks for their efforts.
Congratulations to all the winners and everyone who participated! And thanks to Health Ed. for putting it all together so we could have a healthier summer.
