THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

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Stepinac High School in White Plains celebrated Pope Francis’ historic visit this morning by dedicating a permanent Peace Pole monument(shown at far right). The students also raised $2,150 during Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month which coincided with the Pope’s visit and contributed the proceeds to Go4theGoal, a non-profit organization committed to help support children with cancer.

Rev. Thomas Collins, Stepinac President and an alumnus (Class of ’79), is shown above  with students who participated in the Peace Pole dedication ceremony by reading the eight languages of the prayer, May Peace Prevail on Earth, that were engraved on the monument (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Albanian, Chinese, Korean and Croatian). Standing next to Father Collins is Brandon Cabaleiro (wearing eyeglasses) who will greet the Pope in NYC tomorrow.

The school’s celebration will continue tomorrow when Brandon Cabaleiro (Class of 2016)  (above) of White Plains has the honor of representing Stepinac in welcoming the Pope in New York City  in East Harlem tomorrow morning. He is one of a select a group of outstanding students from throughout the Archdiocese of New York who was chosen to share in the excitement of greeting the Holy Father.

The Stepinac Peace Pole will stand on the school grounds as a permanent reminder for world peace.

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Office of the Press Secretary

________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                         September 23, 2015

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA

AND HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

AT ARRIVAL CEREMONY

South Lawn

9:32 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Good morning.

AUDIENCE:  Good morning!  (Applause.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  What a beautiful day the Lord has made.  Holy Father, on behalf of Michelle and myself, welcome to the White House.  (Applause.)  I should explain that our backyard is not typically this crowded — (laughter) — but the size and spirit of today’s gathering is just a small reflection of the deep devotion of some 70 million American Catholics.  (Applause.)  It reflects, as well, the way that your message of love and hope has inspired so many people across our nation and around the world.  So on behalf of the American people, it is my great honor and privilege to welcome you to the United States of America.  (Applause.)

Today, we mark many firsts.  Your Holiness, you have been celebrated as the first Pope from the Americas.  (Applause.) This is your first visit to the United States.  (Applause.)  And you are also the first pontiff to share an encyclical through a Twitter account.  (Laughter.)

Holy Father, your visit not only allows us, in some small way, to reciprocate the extraordinary hospitality that you extended to me at the Vatican last year.  It also reveals how much all Americans, from every background and every faith, value the role that the Catholic Church plays in strengthening America.  (Applause.)  From my time working in impoverished neighborhoods with the Catholic Church in Chicago, to my travels as President, I’ve seen firsthand how, every single day, Catholic communities, priests, nuns, laity are feeding the hungry, healing the sick, sheltering the homeless, educating our children, and fortifying the faith that sustains so many.

And what is true in America is true around the world.  From the busy streets of Buenos Aires to the remote villages in Kenya, Catholic organizations serve the poor, minister to prisoners, build schools, build homes, operate orphanages and hospitals.  And just as the Church has stood with those struggling to break the chains of poverty, the Church so often has given voice and hope to those seeking to break the chains of violence and oppression.

And yet, I believe the excitement around your visit, Holy Father, must be attributed not only to your role as Pope, but to your unique qualities as a person.  (Applause.)  In your humility, your embrace of simplicity, in the gentleness of your words and the generosity of your spirit, we see a living example of Jesus’ teachings, a leader whose moral authority comes not just through words but also through deeds.  (Applause.)

You call on all of us, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, to put the “least of these” at the center of our concerns.  You remind us that in the eyes of God our measure as individuals, and our measure as a society, is not determined by wealth or power or station or celebrity, but by how well we hew to Scripture’s call to lift up the poor and the marginalized — (applause) — to stand up for justice and against inequality, and to ensure that every human being is able to live in dignity –- because we are all made in the image of God.  (Applause.)

You remind us that “the Lord’s most powerful message” is mercy.  And that means welcoming the stranger with empathy and a truly open heart –- (applause) — from the refugee who flees war-torn lands to the immigrant who leaves home in search of a better life.  (Applause.)  It means showing compassion and love for the marginalized and the outcast, to those who have suffered, and those who have caused suffering and seek redemption.  You remind us of the costs of war, particularly on the powerless and defenseless, and urge us toward the imperative of peace.  (Applause.)

Holy Father, we are grateful for your invaluable support of our new beginning with the Cuban people — (applause) — which holds out the promise of better relations between our countries, greater cooperation across our hemisphere, and a better life for the Cuban people.  We thank you for your passionate voice against the deadly conflicts that ravage the lives of so many men, women and children, and your call for nations to resist the sirens of war and resolve disputes through diplomacy.

You remind us that people are only truly free when they can practice their faith freely.  (Applause.)  Here in the United States, we cherish religious liberty.  It was the basis for so much of what brought us together.  And here in the United States, we cherish our religious liberty, but around the world, at this very moment, children of God, including Christians, are targeted and even killed because of their faith.  Believers are prevented from gathering at their places of worship.  The faithful are imprisoned, and churches are destroyed.  So we stand with you in defense of religious freedom and interfaith dialogue, knowing that people everywhere must be able to live out their faith free from fear and free from intimidation.  (Applause.)

And, Holy Father, you remind us that we have a sacred obligation to protect our planet, God’s magnificent gift to us.  (Applause.)  We support your call to all world leaders to support the communities most vulnerable to changing climate, and to come together to preserve our precious world for future generations.  (Applause.)

Your Holiness, in your words and deeds, you set a profound moral example.  And in these gentle but firm reminders of our obligations to God and to one another, you are shaking us out of complacency.  All of us may, at times, experience discomfort when we contemplate the distance between how we lead our daily lives and what we know to be true, what we know to be right.  But I believe such discomfort is a blessing, for it points to something better.  You shake our conscience from slumber; you call on us to rejoice in Good News, and give us confidence that we can come together in humility and service, and pursue a world that is more loving, more just, and more free.  Here at home and around the world, may our generation heed your call to “never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope.”

For that great gift of hope, Holy Father, we thank you, and welcome you, with joy and gratitude, to the United States of America.  (Applause.)

HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS:  Good morning.

AUDIENCE:  Good morning!

HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS:  Mr. President, I am deeply grateful for your welcome in the name of the all Americans.  As a son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families.  (Applause.)

I look forward to these days of encounter and dialogue in which I hope to listen to and share many of the hopes and dreams of the American people.  During my visit, I will have the honor of addressing Congress, where I hope, as a brother of this country, to offer words of encouragement to those called to guide the nation’s political future in fidelity to its founding principles.  I will also travel to Philadelphia for the eighth World Meeting of Families to celebrate and support the institutions of marriage and the family at this critical moment in the history of our civilization.  (Applause.)

Mr. President, together with their fellow citizens, American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination.  (Applause.)  With countless other people of good will, they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and the right to religious liberty.  (Applause.)  That freedom reminds one of America’s most precious possessions.  And, as my brothers, the United States Bishops, have reminded us, all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it.  (Applause.)

Mr. President, I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution.  (Applause.)  Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to our future generation.  (Applause.)  When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history.  We still have time to make the change needed to bring about a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change.  (Applause.)

Such change demands on our part a serious and responsible recognition not only of the kind of world we may be leaving to our children, but also to the millions of people living under a system which has overlooked them.  Our common home has been part of this group of the excluded, which cries out to heaven and which today powerfully strikes our homes, our cities, our societies.  To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note, and now is the time to honor it.  (Applause.)

We know by faith that the Creator does not abandon us; He never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity has the ability to work together in building our common home.  As Christians inspired by this certainty, we wish to commit ourselves to the conscious and responsible care of our common home.

Mr. President, the efforts which were recently made to mend broken relationships and to open new doors to cooperation within our human family represent positive steps along the path of reconciliation, justice and freedom.

I would like all men and women of good will in this great nation to support the efforts of the international community to protect the vulnerable in our world and to stimulate integral and inclusive models of development — (applause) — so that our brothers and sisters everywhere may know the blessings of peace and prosperity which God wills for all his children.

Mr. President, once again I thank you for your welcome, and I look forward to these days in your country.  God bless America.  (Applause.)

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Yogi Berra, 1925-2015

Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame Catcher, MVP, feared hitter in the pinch,flawless catcher and outfielder.  This is his 1957 Topps Baseball Card showing his famous swing that won many a game for the Bronx Bombers when they were The Bombers The player whom I never heard booed ever in Yankee Stadium passed away Tuesday in his home in New Jersey. We’ll always remember you, Yogi. 

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DIGNATARIES DO THE HONORS, OPENING NEW ENTRANCE TO WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL: “THE HOSPITAL OF THE FUTURE:” L TO RIGHT: Former Chairman of the White Plains Hospital Board of Directors J. Michael Divney; former WPH President and C.E.O. Jon B. Schandler; Deputy County Executive Kevin Plunkett; WPH Chairman of the Board of Directors Larry Smith; White Plains Hospital President and C.E.O. Susan Fox; Montefiore Health System President and C.E.O. Steven Safyer, M.D.; White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach; Montefiore Health System Executive Vice President and C.O.O. Philip Ozuah, M.D., Ph.D.

WPCNR HEALTH CARE NEWS. September 21. From White Plains Hospital.

White Plains Hospital ushered in a new chapter in its history today when it opened the doors to a lobby designed to be as exceptional as the advanced care it offers to Westchester and the region. Local officials and business leaders joined White Plains Hospital President & CEO Susan Fox, Board Chairman Laurence Smith, and Montefiore Health System President & CEO Steven Safyer, M.D., in unveiling the very latest in hospital design.

“This lobby is not just an entrance to a new building, but the gateway to a new era for White Plains Hospital,” Ms. Fox explained.  “This is a major step in the redesign of our campus to better serve our community, bringing in more advanced services and an even greater focus on providing our patients with an exceptional experience.”

The new lobby is one of the first finished components of the Hospital’s capital improvement project, which will be completed this year. The Hospital will have a new, six-story patient tower; new operating rooms with the latest surgical equipment, 24 new private patient rooms and new labor and delivery suites.

Furthermore, the Hospital will add a second cardiac catheterization lab for heart care and will double the size of its cancer center. These services, coupled with its partnership with Montefiore, are transforming White Plains Hospital into the hospital for the future.

“When our transformation project is completed later this year, we will have a facility that reflects our stature as the hub of innovative, advanced care in Westchester County,” explained Mr. Smith. “We will provide a healing environment second to none.”

Steven Safyer, M.D., President and CEO of Montefiore Health System, added, “The newly designed lobby reflects WPH’s long-standing commitment to a positive and welcoming experience for both patients and their families. Now a member of the Montefiore Health System, WPH and its community have the additional benefit of our clinical depth and expertise, thus strengthening its position as a premier healthcare center in Westchester.”

Inspiring Confidence

The lobby’s attractive, modern construction and design inspire confidence by sending a message that patients, families, and visitors will receive technologically advanced care at White Plains Hospital.  The lobby’s 25-foot-high glass walls that bathe the interior with natural light, noise-quieting tiles and beautiful artwork help to offset the stresses that often go along with a hospital visit.

“As an organization dedicated to health, a hospital building must first be a calming, positive space that plays an active role in helping patients heal,” Ms. Fox said. “This new facility was created with an architectural and interior design philosophy that started with a feeling of hospitality to provide a comfortable environment for patients and families.”

Designed to Soothe and Heal

The level of design sophistication is apparent from the moment visitors drive up to the lobby’s Davis Avenue entrance, where a porte-cochère protects them from the elements when they arrive.

After drivers park in the hospital garage, they can cross over to the lobby using the J. Michael Divney skybridge, a glass-enclosed walkway named for the Hospital’s immediate past board chairman. Noted Mr. Smith: “Hospital lobbies often are designed as an afterthought, but they really serve as the cultural and emotional heart of the hospital. It’s the place where healing begins.”

The lobby’s design connects visitors to nature, both through the newly planted streetscape visible through the walls of windows and the wooden planters generously distributed throughout the lobby. Natural materials are used everywhere: elegant wood flows from the building’s exterior into the lobby and wraps into the entranceway.

A walnut feature wall, glistening terrazzo flooring, soft carpeting, comfortable seating, greenery, and noise-dampening ceiling tiles allow for quiet conversation, relaxation, or even work.

In addition, the Hospital commissioned an art installation by New York sculptor Paul Villinski, whose soaring clusters of butterflies—forged from recycled cans—inspire feelings of beauty, hope, and renewal among those who view his work.

“Our design intent has been to improve the patient and staff experience,” explained Frank Gunther AIA, Perkins Eastman’s Principal-in-Charge of the project. “The architecture has been planned to articulate—through a sophisticated design aesthetic, choice of materials, amenities, and improved ‘way finding’—the Hospital’s commitment to an enhanced delivery of care. Along with programmatic additions to surgery, inpatient care units, and support spaces, the renewed White Plains Hospital will serve the region’s demand for best-in-class health care and ensure sustainability for the Hospital.”

Food and Shopping

Visitors in search of a meal, snack, or cup of coffee will be delighted at the selection of delicious and healthy offerings at the lobby’s Everyday Healthy Café, with seating in the atrium. The concept was conceived by the Hospital in conjunction with Peter Herrero, the founder and president of the New York Hospitality Group, which owns the popular White Plains restaurant, Sam’s of Gedney Way.

Everyday Healthy Café offers locally sourced fruits and vegetables, organic choices, freshly squeezed vegetable juices to order, and delicious wraps. Visitors who want to pick up a gift will find amazing and one-of-a kind items at the lobby’s gift store, which will include wares made by local artisans.

Coming Next: New Operating Suites and Patient Rooms

As outlined previously, White Plains Hospital will soon unveil the rest of the new, six-story building.  On the third floor, surgeons will begin using five new operating suites that are specifically designed to bear the weight and size of highly advanced surgical equipment.

The fourth and fifth floor will provide two dozen new private patient rooms, while the sixth floor will house a spacious maternity unit, with private patient rooms and expanded labor and delivery suites. Gilbane Building Company has managed the construction.

One of the last phases of White Plains Hospital’s four-year capital transformation project will be completed late in 2015: a new 40,000-square-foot addition to the Cancer Center that will nearly double the space for the Hospital’s growing number of cancer experts, researchers and clinical trials.

The lobby in the Cancer Center echoes the main lobby with floor-to-ceiling glass, natural earth tones, and greenery. Additional amenities, such as a water feature and library, will enhance comfort and convenience for patients and family members.

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Reverend Dr. Everett C. Parker

1913-2015