On May 8, 1935,
Gloria Vanderbilt received her first communion at the convent located at St. Francis.[10]
In 1937, two percent of
Brooklynschoolchildren suffered from
rheumatic heart conditions and needed
charitable healthcare assistance.[11] As a result, the camp was transformed into a cardiac
sanatorium for children.[7][11] By 1941, St. Francis featured 125 beds, caring for children between 6 and 16 years of age with an average stay of 8 months.[11] The hospital expanded in 1954 to care for adult patients and had grown to house 227 beds and 5 operating rooms by 1973.[8]
In 1953, a new operating facility opened at St. Francis, designed by George Holdeness, of
Eggers & Higgins.[12]
Around 1957,
Frederic P. Wiedersum Associates designed a reconstructed dormitory after it had been damaged in a fire; the firm also designed buildings at the hospital in the 1970s.[13]
In December 1983,
First LadyNancy Reagan visited St. Francis Hospital after she and
PresidentRonald Reagan brought two children, Ah Ji Sook (7) and Lee Kil Woo (4), from
South Korea to the United States in November 1983 for
open-heart surgery at St. Francis Hospital.[14][15][16] Mrs. Reagan held a press conference at St. Francis Hospital that December 15th; the surgery saved the lives of both children.[17][18][19][20][21]
In 1988, an acute care wing at St. Francis Hospital was dedicated to Nancy Reagan for saving the lives of the two children in 1983.[17][22][23] Reagan attended the Nancy Reagan Hall's dedication ceremony and opening in October 4, 1988.[17][22][24][25][26]
After
Avianca Flight 52 crashed on January 25, 1990 in
Cove Neck, St. Francis Hospital was one of several area hospitals that took in and provided care to passengers injured in the crash.[27] The crash victims taken in by St. Francis Hospital included both adults and children.[27]
In 2012, St. Francis Hospital renovated their emergency room, expanding it and making it more energy-efficient.[28]
Joseph M. Margiotta – Major New York politician and
political boss who formerly ran the Nassau County GOP; died at St. Francis Hospital in 2008.[35]
John Slate – Aviation lawyer; died at St. Francis Hospital in 1967.[36]
Transportation
St. Francis Hospital is served by the
n23 bus route, which is operated by
Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE).[37] The n23 stops directly in front of the hospital's main entrance, on Port Washington Boulevard (NY 101).[37]
^"Reagan Upholds Ties to S. Korea: Blames N. Korea for Burma Bombing Ending Trip, Reagan Blames N. Korea in Burma Bombing". Newsday. November 14, 1983. pp. 1, 3 – via
ProQuest.
^
abNagourney, Eric (March 10, 1990). "Slow Healing: 2 Dozen Survivors Still in Hospital, Many Facing More Than a Year of Therapy or Extra Surgery Tending Their Pain Flight 52 survivors brace for months of recovery". Newsday – via
ProQuest.