Kelly Purcell, left, with her husband, Kevin, and newborn
Kelly Purcell was already a mother of two, with both children born at The Mount Sinai Hospital, but this time the circumstances were dramatically different. She was due to give birth at the end of March 2020, the beginning of the surge of COVID-19 in New York City. Due to an abundance of caution, there were safety restrictions at that time, and her husband would not be able to be present at the birth, visit, or stay over.
Friends and family offered to host Kelly and her family in Virginia and New Jersey so that she could give birth in a hospital that then allowed visitors. But Kelly only wanted her baby to be delivered by Francesco Callipari, MD, at Mount Sinai, where she believed the best care would be provided for her and her newborn. To her surprise and joy, Dr. Callipari called Kelly a few days before the birth to share the good news that the visitor policy had been updated and healthy partners were allowed to be in the delivery room.
After a successful birth, Kelly wrote a heartfelt note with high praise for her labor and delivery team:
“I am eternally thankful for the care I received at The Mount Sinai Hospital,” she says. “After having regular contractions, it became more difficult to consistently find the baby’s heart rate and when detected, it was dropping during contractions. All signs were pointing towards an emergency C-section. Dr. Callipari ushered the extra medical staff who had gathered away and sensing my husband’s worry, he approached him – I think he even grabbed him by the shoulders – looked him in the eye and assured him that he was going to take care of me. He then worked with me to miraculously deliver my healthy baby girl, who was born with the umbilical cord around her neck.”
Kelly continues, “The postpartum care was equally noteworthy, with doctors, nurses, and staff from patient services, food services, maintenance, as well as the kind hearts who cleaned the room, all going above and beyond to ensure my baby and I felt supported, comforted, and cared for during our stay. The knowledge and experience of Dr. Callipari and the team at Mount Sinai and the sincere and genuine care shown for their patients are unparalleled and simply best in class. In the wake of this pandemic, it was humbling to see the health care providers in their PPE, giving 100 percent of their focus and energy to me and the birth of our child. We are forever grateful that I was able to walk out of the hospital with a beautiful, healthy baby in my arms, and we couldn’t have asked for anything more.”