[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16747]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       IN HONOR OF THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FLOATING HOSPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 8, 2016

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
honor the 150th anniversary of The Floating Hospital (TFH), located in 
Long Island City, New York, in the district I am privileged to 
represent. TFH was founded in 1866 with the goal: ``To afford relief to 
the sick children of the poor of the City of New York without regard to 
creed, color, or nationality.'' Today, TFH serves thousands of victims 
of domestic violence, homeless families, and public housing residents.
  Though it is a land-based organization today, TFH derives its name 
from the series of ships which housed the hospital and regularly sailed 
through New York Harbor, providing children and their caregivers with 
recreational opportunities on board, as well as healthcare services, 
health and nutrition education, and a respite from an overcrowded city. 
The idea was inaugurated by George F. Williams, a managing editor at 
The New York Times, when he saw newsboys being forced off the grass in 
City Hall Park by police and ordered to stay on the walkways where the 
hot concrete burned their feet. Their plight inspired him to appeal to 
the Times's readership to donate money for a boat trip for newsboys and 
bootblacks. These trips soon became more regular and were taken over by 
St. John's Guild, which purchased the first vessel, organized the trips 
and expanded them to include underprivileged children and their 
mothers. Medical personnel were hired to provide treatment, vaccines, 
nutritional guidance and other care, and opened a clinic for sick 
patients on Staten Island.
  IN the early 2000s, TFH sold its boat and created a clinic in Long 
Island City and has now become New York City's largest provider of 
primary healthcare services to residents of family shelters and 
domestic violence safe houses, as well as residents of public housing, 
with more than 61,000 patient visits every year. TFH opened the first 
federally-qualified health center in a New York City Housing
Authority development and Queensbridge Houses.
  TFH works proactively with families from the moment they enter the 
shelter system, including screenings for communicable diseases and 
health conditions like heart disease and asthma. TFH provides a huge 
array of primary healthcare services, oral healthcare, health 
education, benefits counseling, and mental health services, and even 
offers free transportation for patients to and from over 200 shelters 
and domestic violence safe houses.
  In its 150 years, TFH has served over 5 million patients. Today, it 
continues to honor its historic mission to serve the most vulnerable by 
working constantly to improve and expand its services and clinics.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the anniversary of TFH 
and its 150 years of immeasurable contributions to the health and well-
being of all New Yorkers.

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