News + Events/April 2026
A night to remember
Since 1866, The Floating Hospital has ensured that New York City families have what they need to survive and thrive by providing healthcare, education, and relief services to all who come through our doors. This year, we turn 160, and we are celebrating!
Please join us on June 2nd for the Annual Summer Gala at the Edison Ballroom to celebrate this milestone. We are marking not only how far we have come but also charting the course of our future. The evening begins at 6pm with cocktails and live music by the Ellington Legacy, followed by dinner and a lively program. The event’s theme, “160 & Rising,” touches on our historic legacy and the philanthropic spirit that continues to make our services possible. The Floating Hospital’s 2026 Gala supports critical needs and comprehensive care for those who need it most.
Join generous sponsors such as:
Champion: Alliant; Alera Group; Ariel Investments; Bedrock
Visionary: Quest Diagnostics; Henry Schein; Spring Bank; Karen & Doug Seidman
Patron: Calcium & Co.; EmblemHealth; Shannon & Philip LaRocco; Mediterranean Shipping Company; Plaxall, Inc.; The Seed; TF Cornerstone
Anchor: Sarajane Brittis, PhD; Sean T. Granahan, Esq.; Irish Business Organization of New York; Beltramini Family; Gloria Jackson; UNFCU.
For information on tickets and sponsorships, please email Ann-Louise Lipman at alipman@thefloatinghospital.org.
A community embraces wellbeing
Since last year, a popular new program, Embracing Wellbeing, has been helping the greater Floating Hospital community make regular self-care a monthly habit with free discussions designed to develop a lasting and positive attitude toward their physical, mental, and social health.
According to Alma Cruz, senior community liaison at The Floating Hospital and the founder of the series, her team has worked with “hundreds of people in the community and beyond who are interested in healthy habits and better lifestyle choices.” The aim is to provide “an open and supportive environment, where all participants can reflect, share, and grow together.”
Previous discussions have focused on setting health goals and the importance of primary care and dietary habits in preventing and managing chronic disease.
Coming up on April 29 is “Nourishing Health: Making Informed Food Choices,” focusing on how diet affects energy, health, and wellbeing. Tips for smart shopping and meal planning will be featured along with how traditional and cultural dishes can be incorporated into a healthy lifestyle while still honoring family traditions.
On May 25, the topic will be “Finding Balance: Understanding Stress, Anxiety, and Emotional Wellbeing,” with discussion centered on recognizing signs of stress and anxiety, learning healthy coping strategies, and sharing ways to support others in building emotional resilience and maintaining overall well-being. The differences between stress and anxiety, the effects of both on overall wellbeing, and how self-care can help will also be explored.
The June 24 discussion is “Financial Literacy for a Healthy Future.” The sound management of money through budgeting, saving, and controlling debt can affect our overall quality of life. This talk will offer practical insights that support a more balanced and secure future to prevent stress related to financial pressure, while explaining how even preventive care and healthy habits can play a role in economic security.
Each discussion takes place in The Floating Hospital Community Outreach Center at 40-35 21st Street in Long Island City from 2 to 4pm. To register or for more information, call 646-596-6754 or email Acruz@thefloatinghospital.org.
Loukoumi makes a difference
In February the Loukoumi Make a Difference Foundation and Philoxenia were back in the Chef Maria Loi Loukoumi Make a Difference Teaching Kitchen that Loukomi underwrote for our main clinic. The groups partnered with the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens to assemble food bags for the Lotus Blue Family Shelter in the Bronx as well as our patient families. The kids from the Variety Boys & Girls Club donned blue gloves and made 120 sandwiches for the bags. A big thank you to everyone who came together for a great cause.
Fifteen Hundred Checkups
In order to access the ship in the early days, all passengers were inspected by two doctors—one of our own and one from the Board of Health. They made sure the person standing in front of them matched the physician-signed ticket with the child’s illness indicated; that no child was older than six, unless a “little mother” (an older sister in charge of a younger sibling, with the mother absent); and to make sure no one had a contagious disease.
Dr. Ferd. C. Valentine, volunteering in 1876 described how the procedure actually worked. “Once stationed at the bottom of the gangplank the signal would be given to ’let them on’ and the police would endeavor to cause the surging crowd to form a sort of line, which effort generally proves futile.
“In a moment you are besieged. Here comes a poor, weak creature, who with club-nailed fingers grasps a tiny skeleton hand. Had you the time, you might deliberate as to which deserves the most sympathy, but you see five or six hundred people before you, all of whom you must ‘examine’ in half an hour.” At the next two stops the process would be repeated.
He described a hilarious encounter with an “imposter” as such… “a large, healthy girl, who is evidently of marriageable age, but who calls High Heaven to certify that she has not yet passed her sixth year! She wishes to make a picnic of it, and when you turn her off, if billingsgate [the rowdy London fish market] had any weight you would need the arched rock of Hell Gate to protect you from the choice epithets which the innocent child of less than six summers showers upon you!”
Photo from the Report of St. John’s Guild, 1892: Dr. W.A. Walker, attending physician, in white official cap, with Dr. Purcell, NYC Board of Health
Source: “The Floating Hospital of St. John’s Guild.” By Ferd. C. Valentine, M.D., Physician to the Floating Hospital. St. Louis Clinical Record: a monthly journal of medicine and surgery, Vol. 3, No. 7, October 1876.