New Year's Baby Born at the Stroke of Midnight at
Elmhurst Hospital Center

New York, NY – As revelers ushered in the New Year in Times Square, a family welcomed a new baby girl at the stroke of midnight on January 1 at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, a member of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC).

Weighing in at 6 lb., 11 oz., little Kaylee Sayuri Merino was born to mother Rosalba Merino and father Eutiquio Mejia at exactly 12:00:00 a.m. Mother and baby are doing well. The baby was delivered by Dr. Ashley Davis and Maria Hernandez, RN. The couple has an older child, Miguel, age 7, who was also born at Elmhurst Hospital.

"We are thrilled and excited that one of the first babies of 2013 was born at Elmhurst," said Chris Constantino, Elmhurst Hospital Center's Executive Director. "Our staff is overjoyed."

About Elmhurst Hospital

Elmhurst Hospital Center (EHC) is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. The hospital has 545 beds and is a Level 1 Trauma Center, an Emergency Heart Care Station and a 911-Receiving Hospital. It is a premiere health care organization for key areas such as Surgery, Cardiology, Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Renal and Mental Health Services.  Elmhurst Hospital Center serves an area of approximately one million people in the most ethnically diverse community in the world. Last year, EHC delivered over 4,000 babies, received over 700,000 ambulatory care visits, and treated close to 130,000 patients in the Emergency Room, making it one of the busiest hospitals in New York City.

About HHC

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlus, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the Country. HHC serves 1.3 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission's John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/hhc.

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