Saint Joseph’s Medical Center Yonkers partnership with CSEE benefits local community

The coronavirus pandemic shined a spotlight on the necessity and value of hard-working healthcare providers throughout New York state. In Yonkers, what started out as a gesture of generosity has blossomed into a partnership between Saint Joseph’s Medical Center and the Charter School of Educational Excellence in Yonkers. This partnership has resulted in an outpouring of support from communities across the state, including opportunities for collaboration between community organizations and providers.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Yonkers, CSEE student athletes brought food and donations to Saint Joseph’s for its frontline healthcare staff. Since then, the hospital and school have started working together on several projects, including the Feeding Westchester initiative to serve their local community. In July, the hospital hosted its third mobile food pantry event with Feeding Westchester. This unique program is a collaboration with CSEE students who volunteered to help distribute the food.

Saint Joseph’s and CSEE are continuing their collaboration with future programs, such as:

• Saint Joseph’s will be doing sports physicals for CSEE student-athletes.
• The hospital’s Maxwell Institute for substance abuse prevention for adults and kids will offer programs for CSEE along with behavioral health services through St. Vincent’s Hospital in Harrison.
• CSEE is connecting students’ families with Saint Joseph’s Family Health Center to create a “medical home” for families by providing structured, regular and preventive healthcare.
• Saint Joseph’s is providing community service opportunities for CSEE students such as the recent mobile food pantry where students volunteered to help distribute food to local families.
• The Charter School and Saint Joseph’s are discussing developing a health track for CSEE students interested in health education and healthcare careers.

Michael Spicer, president and CEO of Saint Joseph’s Medical Center and Eduardo LaGuerre, founder and board chairman of CSEE, said they’re dedicated to continuing this partnership for the foreseeable future as part of their commitment to meeting the needs of and bettering their community.

For more information, contact Lorraine Horgan, MSW, vice president, external affairs, at lhorgan@saintjosephs.org or (914) 378-7535.