Elmhurst Hospital hosts Mother’s Day and National Nurses Week community celebration

This celebration also honored the hospital’s commitment to advancing medicine, patient care and evidence-based treatment, as well as the senior leadership team, including Chief Executive Officer Alina Moran, MPA, FACHE, FAB, and Department of External Affairs and Marketing Director Atiya Butler.

“It is truly an honor to celebrate Mother’s Day with our local community at this momentous and beautiful celebration,” Moran said. “I am proud to join Dr. Sumita SenGupta in recognizing the incredible contributions of our dedicated staff, nurses and physicians here at Elmhurst Hospital, who every day tirelessly work to deliver world-class, compassionate and premier care to Queens, one of the most remarkable and diverse communities in the nation.”

Approximately 4,000 nurses comprise the Nursing Department at Elmhurst Hospital. These nurses provide high-quality medical care and treatment to over 140,000 emergency room visits and more than 1 million ambulatory visits each year.

Multiple elected officials, hospital leadership and dignitaries spoke during the celebration. This included Arts4All Foundation Founder Dr. Sumita SenGupta, GPK Foundation America President Somnath Ghimire, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz and Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry.

“Over 6,000 hardworking New Yorkers are employed at Elmhurst Hospital; roughly 80% of the healthcare workers are women, many of whom were the frontline heroes during the pandemic and other emergency disasters and often work beyond their shifts and miss out on holidays and family milestones, including Mother’s Day,” Dr. SenGupta said. “We are honored to organize a celebration for the women in healthcare whose resilience has strengthened our families and communities, sacrifice has improved life outcomes and dedicated service has inspired all of us to continue to support advancements to medicine and community development, as well as ensure healthcare workers receive equal pay, equitable labor practices and the recognition they deserve.”

“I wish all the mothers of Queens a very happy Mother’s Day! So much of who we are is because of the values our mothers have instilled in us,” Ghimire said. “A mother’s sacrifice is unparalleled, and I am blessed to be part of our celebration honoring the extraordinary mothers of our community.”

In addition to the speeches, the celebration also featured poems, singing, dancing and cultural performances that reflected the diversity of the Queens community. There was also a sparkler show, a Mother’s Day cake-cutting ceremony, a silk flower-maker class and face painting.

A free giveaway of over 1,000 Mother’s Day gifts was organized by the Arts4All Foundation. Among these gifts for the Elmhurst Hospital staff and Queens community were perfumes, lotions, bath bombs, collagen face masks, hair serums, lip balms, flowers, silk shawls, balloons, stickers and chocolates. These gifts were also meant to recognize the critical role of Elmhurst Hospital’s medical team when it comes to providing lifesaving, high-quality and compassionate healthcare for New Yorkers.

Both Assemblymember Cruz and Council Member Thomas-Henry, the elected officials on hand, have championed advancing women’s rights, education, healthcare, labor rights, housing and affordability. They also represent communities surrounding the Elmhurst Hospital.

“Mother’s Day is about celebrating the love, strength and sacrifices of the mothers who are the heart of our community,” Assemblymember Cruz said. “Thank you to Dr. Sumita SenGupta, founder of the Arts4All Foundation, and Elmhurst Hospital for hosting this beautiful celebration right here in the place where so many of our moms and families come for care, comfort and support. Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible mothers and caregivers we honor today.”

“To all of the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, godmothers, caregivers and guiding maternal figures, I thank you for raising and uplifting our families and communities with your unconditional love, strength, hard work and nurturing care,” Council Member Thomas-Henry said. “I am honored to join Dr. Sumita SenGupta and Elmhurst Hospital in expressing our gratitude to the brave women in healthcare and mothers in our community. As a mother of two beautiful daughters, they inspire me to fight for a future where they, and every child, can thrive in a safe, supportive and vibrant community. I am committed to continuing to fight for moms and families through expanding maternal healthcare, quality education, equal pay, social services, affordable housing and access to childcare.”

Dinner for the event was donated by local restaurants in the community, including Himalayan Yak Restaurant owner Tsomo Dasel, Gorkhali Restaurant owner Gyanu Thapa and Karahi House Restaurant owner Rekha Shrestha. Additionally, Hot Breads owner Kaushal Naik provided an artisan Mother’s Day cake for dessert.

The celebration concluded with live performances by Mahadev Tripathi, Sweta Goswami, Subhra Goswami, Yomesh Sharma, Preity Jain, Gobind Kumar Negi and Mariom Maria.